
Book J:^3G 3> 



/ 



GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL 
RECORD 



OF 



DECATUR COUNTY 



NDIANA 



COMPENDIUM OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY 



CHICAC.O 

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1900 



Fssz 



I N 13 E 



PART 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. 



Abbott, Lyman, 144. 
Adams, Charles Komlill, i4,v 
Adams,' John, 25. 
Adams, John Quincy, 61. 
Agassiz. Louis J. R., 137. 
Alger, Russfll A., 17.V 
Allison, William B., 131. 
Allston, Washington, igo. 
•Altgeld, John Peter, 140. 
Andrews. Elisha B., 184. 
.'Xnthony, Susan B., 62. 
Armour. Philip D., 62. 
Arnold. Benedict. 84. 
Arthur. Chester Allen, 168. 
Astor. John Jacob, 139. 
Au<lul)ciii. John James. 166. 



Bailey. James Montgomery. 177. 
Bancroft, George. 74. 
Barnard, Frederick .A. P., lyg. 
Barnum. Phincas T.. 41 
Barrett. Lawrence. 156. 
Barton, Clara. 209. 
Bayard, Thomas Francis. 200. 
Beard, William H., 196. 
Beauregard, Pierre G. T., 203. 
Beecher, Henry Ward, 26. 
Bell, Alexander Graham. 96. 
Bennett, James Gordon, 206. 
Benton. Thomas Hart. 53. 
Bergh, Henry, 160. 
Bicrstadt, .\lbcrt, 197. 
Billings, Josh. 166. 
Blaine, James Gillespie, 22. 
Bland, Richard Parks, 106. 
Boone, Daniel, 36. 



Booth. F.dwin. 51. 

Booth, Junius Brutus, 177. 

Brice. Calvin S.. 181. 

Brooks, Phillips, 130. 

Brown. John. 51. 

Browne, Charles Farrar, 91. 

Brush, Charles Francis, 153. 

Bryan. William Jennings, 158. 

Bryant, William Cullcn, 44. 

Buchanan, Franklin. 105. 

Buchanan. James, 128." 

Buckner, Simon Bolivar. 188. 

Burdettc. Robert J., 103. 

Burr, .'\aron, in. 

Butler. Benjamin Franklin, 24. 



Calhoun, John Caldwell, 2,^. 
Cameron, James Donald, 141. 
Cameron, Simon, 141. 
Cammack, Addison, 197. 
Campbell, Alexander, iSo. 
Carlisle, John G.. 133. 
Carnegie. Andrew. 73. 
Carpenter, Matthew Hale, 178. 
Carson. Christopher (Kit). 86. 
Cass. Lewis. 1 10. 
Chase, Salmon Portland, 65. 
Childs. George W.. 83. 
Choate, Rufus. 207. 
Claflin, Horace Brigham, 107. 
Clay, Henry, 21. 

Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 8( 
Cleveland, Grover, 174. 
Clews, Henry, 153. 
Clinton. DeWitt, no 
Colfax, Schuyler, i3<). 
Conkling, .Alfred, 32. 
Conkling. Roscoe, 32 

iii 



Cooley. Thomas Mclntyre, 140. 
Cooper. Jaines Fenimore. 58. 
Cooper. Peter, 37. 
Copely. John Singleton. 191. 
Corbin. Austin. 205. 
Corcoran, W. W.. 196. 
Cornell, Ezra, 161. 
Cramp, William, 189. 
Crockett, David. 76. 
Cullom, Shelby Moore. 116. 
Curtis, George William, 144. 
Cushman. Charlotte. 107. 
Custer. George A.. 95. 

D. 

Dana, Charles A., 88. 
"Danbury News Man." 177. 
Davenport, Fanny, 106. 
Davis. Jefferson. 24. 
Deb.s, Eugene V., 132. 
Decatur. Stephen. loi. 
Deering. William, 198. 
Dcpew. Chauncey Mitchell. Jcx). 
Dickinson. -Anna. 103. 
Dickinson, Don M., 139. 
Dingley. Nelson, Jr., 215. 
Donnelly, Ignatius, 161. 
Douglas. Stephen Arnold, 53. 
Douglass. Frederick. 43. 
Dow, Neal, 108. 
Draper. John William, 184. 
Drcxel. .Anthony Joseph. 124. 
Oupont. Henry. 198. 



Edison, Thomas ,Mva, 55. 
Edmunds, George F.. 201. 
Ellsworth. Oliver. 168. 
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 57. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. 



Ericsson, John. 127. 
Evarts, William }.h 



dl. 89. 



Farragut, David Glascoc. 80. 
Field, Cyrus West, 173. 
Field, David Dudley. 126. 
Field. Marshall, 59. 
Field, Stephen Johnson, 216. 
Fillmore, Millard, T13. 
Foote, Andrew Hull, 176. 
Foraker, Joseph B., I43- 
Forrest. Edwin. 92. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 18. 
Fremont, John Charles, 29. 
Fuller, Melville Weston, 168. 
Fulton, Robert, 62. 



Gage, Lyman J.. 71- 
Gallatin, Albert, 112. 
Garfield. James A., 163. 
Garrett, John Work, 200. 
Garrison, William Lloyd, 50. 
Gates, Horatio, 70. 
Catling, Richard Jordan. 116. 
George. Henry. 203. 
Gibbons. Cardinal Jatnes, 209. 
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield, 77. 
Girard, Stephen, 137. 
Gough, John B., 131. 
Gould, Jay. 5^- 
Gordon. John B., 215. 
Grant, Ulysses S.. 153. 
Gray, Asa, 88. 
Gray. Elisha, 149, 
Greeley, Horace, 20. 
Greely, Adolphus W., 142- 
Greene, Nathaniel, 69. 
Gresham. Walter Quintin. 183. 

H. 

Hale. Edward Everett. 79. 
Hall. Charles Francis, 167. 
Hamilton. Alexander. 31, 
Hamlin, Hannibal, 214. 
Hampton, Wade, 192. 
Hancock, Winfield Scott, 146. 
Hanna, Marcus Alonzo, 169, 
Harris, Isham G., 214. 
Harrison. William Henry, 87. 
Harrison, Benjamin. 182. 



Harvard, John, 129. 

Havemeyer, John Craig, 182. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 135. 

Hayes, Rutherford Birchard, 157. 

Hendricks, Thomas Andrew, 212. 

Henry, Joseph, 105. 

Henry, Patrick, 83. 

Hill, David Bennett, 90, 

Hobart, Garrett A., 213. 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 206. 

Hooker, Joseph, 52. 

Howe, Elias, 130. 

Howells, William Dean, 104. 

Houston, Sam, 120. 

Hughes. Archbishop John, 157. 

Hughitt, Marvin, 159. 

Hull, Isaac, 169. 

Huntington, Collis Potter, 94. 

I. 

Ingalls, John James, 114. 
Ingersoll, Robert G., 85. 
Irving, Washington, 33. 

J. 

Jackson, Andrew, 71. 
Jackson, "Stonewall," 67. 
Jackson. Thomas Jonathan, 67. 
Jay, John, 39. 
Jefferson, Joseph, 47. 
Jefferson, Thomas, 34. 
Johnson, Andrew, 145. 
Johnson, Eastman. 202. 
Johnston, Joseph Eccleston, 85. 
Jones, James K., 171. 
Jones, John Paul, 97. 
Jones, Samuel Porter, 115. 



Kane. Elisha Kent. 1 
Kearney, Philip, 210. 
Kenton. Simon, 188. 
Knox, John Jay, 134. 



Lamar, Lucius Q. C 201. 
Landon. Melville D.. 109. 
iee. Robert Edward. 38. 
Lewis, Charles B.. 193. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 135. 
Livermore, Mary Ashton, 131 
Locke, David Ross, 172. 



Logan, John A., 26. 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworlh, 

37- 
Longstreet, James, 56. 
Lowell, James Russell, 104. 

:\L 

Mackay, John William. 148. 
Madison, James, 42. 
Marshall, John, 156. 
Mather, Cotton, 164. 
blather. Increase. 163. 
Maxim, Hiram S., 194. 
McClellan, George Brinton, 47. 
McCormick, Cyrus Hall, 172. 
McDonough, Com. Thomas, 167. 
McKinley, William, 217. 
Meade, George Gordon, 75. 
Medill, Joseph, 159. 
Miles, Nelson A., 176. 
Miller, Cincinnatus Heine. 218. 
Miller. Joaquin, 218. 
Mills, Roger Quarles, 211. 
Monroe, James. 54. 
]\Ioody, Dwight L., 207. 
^loran, Thomas, 98. 
Morgan, John Pierpont, 208. 
Morgan John T.. 216. 
Morris, Robert, 165. 
Morse, Samuel F. B., 124. 
Morton. Levi P.. 142. 
Morton. Oliver Perry. 215. 
Motley. John Lathrop. 130. 



"Nye. Bill." 59. 

Nye. Edgar Wilson. 59. 



O'Conor. Charles, 18 
Olney, Richard, 133. 



Paine, Thomas, 147. 
Palmer. John M.. I95- 
Parkhurst, Charles Henry, 160. 
"Partington, Mrs.." 202. 
Peabody. George, 170. 
Peck. George W., 187. 
Peffer. William A., 164, 
Perkins, Eli, 109. 
Perry. Oliver Hazard, 97. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OP NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. 



Phillips. Wendell, 30. 
Pierce, Franklin. 122. 
Pingree, Hazcn S.. 212. 
Plant. Henry B., 192. 
Poe. Edgar Allen, 6g. 
Polk, James Knox, 102. 
Porter, David Dixon, 68. 
Porter, Noah, 93. 
Prentice, George Dcnison, 119. 
Prcscott. William Hickling. g6. 
Pullman, George Mortimer, 121 



Quad. M. 193. 
Quay. Matthew S.. 



Randolph. Edmund. 146. 
Read. Thomas Buchanan. 132. 
Reed. Thomas Brackctt. 208. 
Reid. Whitelavv. 149. 
Roach. John. 190. 
Rockefeller. John Davison. 195. 
Root. George Frederick. 218. 
Rotherniel. Peter F.. 113- 
Rulledge. John. 57. 



Sage. Russell, 211. 

Schofield. John McAllister. 199. 

Schurz. Carl. 201. 

Scott, Thomas -Alexander, 204. 

Scott. Winfield. 79. 

Seward. William Henry. 44. 

Sharon. William. 165. 

Shaw. Henrv W.. 166. 



Sheridan, Phillip Henry, 40. 
Sherman, Charles R., 87. 
Sherman. John, 86. 
Shillaber, Benjamin Penhallow. 

202. 
Sherman. William Tecumseh, 30. 
Smith, Edmund Kirby, 114. 
Sousa. John Philip, 60. 
Sprecklcs, Claus, 159. 
Stanford, Leiand, loi. 
Stanton, Edwin McMasters, 179. 
Stanton. Elizabeth Cady. 126. 
Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 

32. 
Stevenson, Adiai Ewing. 141. 
Stewart, .Alexander T., 58. 
Stewart. William Morris, 213. 
Stowe, Harriet Elizabeth Beecher, 

66. 
Stuart. James E. B.. 122. 
Sumner. Charles. 34. 



Talmage. Thomas DeWitt. 60. 
Taney, Roger Brooke, 129. 
Taylor. Zachary, 108. 
Teller, Henry M., 127. 
Tesia, Nikola, 193. 
Thomas. George H.. 73. 
Thomas. Theodore, 172. 
Thurman. Allen G.. 90. 
Thurston. John ^f.. 166. 
Tilden. Samuel J.. 48. 
Tillman. Benjamin Ryan. 119. 
Toombs. Robert. 205. 
"Twain, Mark," 86. 
Tyler, John, 93. 



Van Buren, Martin, 78. 
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 35. 
Vail, Alfred, 1S4- 
Vest, George Graham, 214. 
Vilas. William Freeman. 140. 
Voorhees. Daniel Wolsey, 95. 



Waite, Morrison Remich. 125. 
Wallace. Lewis, 199. 
Wallack. Lester, 121. 
Wallack. John Lester, 121. 
Wanamaker. John. 89. 
Ward. ".Artemus," 91. 
Washburnc, Elihu Benjamin. 18 
Washington, George, 17. 
Watson, Thomas E.. 178. 
Watterson, Henry. 76. 
Weaver. James B., 123. 
Webster, Daniel. 19. 
Webster. Noah, 49. 
Weed. Thurlow, 9r. 
West. Benjamin. 115. 
Whipple. Henry Benjamin. i6r. 
White. Stephen V.. 162. 
Whitefield. George. 150. 
Whitman, Walt. 197. 
Whitney Eli. 120. 
Whitney, William Collins, 92. 
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 67. 
Willard. Frances E., 133. 
Wilson, William L., 180. 
Winchell, Alexander, 175. 
Windom, William, 138. 



PORTRAITS OF N.4TIONAL dfLEBRITlHS. 



A. 


Booth, Edwin, 63. 


Clay, Henry, 81. 




Bryan, Wm. J., 63. 


Cleveland. Grover, 45. 


Alger, Russell A., 16. 


Bryant, William Cullen. i8s. 


Cooper. Peter. 99. 


Allison. William B., 99- 


Buchanan. James. 81, 




Anthony. Susan B.. 63. 


Buckner. Simon B.. 16. 


D. 


Armour. Philip D.. 151. 


Butler. Benjamin F.. 151. 


Dana. Charles A.. 151. 


Arthur. Chester A.. 81. 




Depew. Chauncey ^r., 117. 


B. 


c. 


Douglass. Fred, 63. 


B.irnum. Phineas T.. 117. 


Carlisle, John G., 151. 


E. 


Beecher. Henry Ward. 27. 


Chase, Salmon P.. 16. 


Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 27. 


Blaine. James G.. 151. 


Childs. George W.. 99- 


Evarts. William M., 99. 



PORTRAITS OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. 



F. 


J. 


S. 




Farragut, Com. D. G., 185. 


Jackson. Andrew, 45. 


Sage, Russell, 117. 




Field, Cyrus W., 63. 


Jefferson. Thomas. 45. ■ 


Scott. Gen. Winfield. 185. 




Field, Marshall, 117. 


Johnston. Gen. J. E.. 16. 


Seward, William H.. 45. 




Franklin, Benjamin. 6^. 




Sherman. John. 99. 




Fremont, Gen. John C, 16. 


L. 


Sherman. Gen. W. T., i^ 


I, 


G. 


Lee. Gen. Robert E.. 185. 


Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 


27. 




Lincoln. Abraham, 81. 


Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 


27. 


Gage, Lyman J., 151. 
Garfield, James A., 45- 
Garrison, William Lloyd. 63. 
George. Henry, 117. 
Gould. Jay, 99. 


Logan, Gen. John A.. 16. 
Longfellow, Henry W.. 185. 
Longstreet, Gen. James, 16. 
Lowell. James Russell. 27. 


Sumner, Charles, 45. 
T. 




Grant. Gen. U. S,. 185. 


M. 


Talmage. T. DeWitt. 62.. 




Greeley, Horace. 81. 


Teller. Henry M.. 99. 






McKinley. William. 45. 


Thurman, Allen G., 81. 




H. 


Morse, S. F. B., 185. 


Tilden, Samuel J., 117. 




Hampton, Wade. 16. 


P. 






Hancock. Gen. Winfield S., 185. 


V. 




Hanna. Mark A., 117. 


Phillips, Wendell, 27. 






Harrison. Benjamin. 81. 


Porter. Com. D. D.. 185. 


Van Buren. Martin. 81. 




Hayes, R. B., 45. 


Pullman. George M,. 117. 


Vanderbilt. Commodore. 


99. 


Hendricks. Thomas A.. 81. 








Holmes, Oliver W., 151. 


Q. 


W. 




Hooker, Gen. Joseph, 16. 
L 


Quay. M, S., 99. 


Webster. Daniel, 27. 




R. 


Whittier, John G., 27. 




Ingersoll. Robert G.. 117. 




Washington, George, 45. 




Irving. Washington. 27. 


Reed. Thomas B., 151. 


Watterson, Henry, 63. 





PART 11. 



BIOGRAPHICAL COMPENDIUM OF DECATUR COUNTY. 



A. 


Gilchrist. Archibald C. 278. 


Loyd, Creth J., 331. 




Gilmour. .Andrew S.. 276. 


Lugenbell, John F., 361. 


Ardery. David A., 292. 


Gosnell, Ale.xander, 240. 






Gosnell, Benjamin, 231. 


M. 


B. 


Goyert, August, 33i- 






Grover, Ira G., 335. 


Matthews, Harry O., 299. 


Bartlctt, Robert A., 248. 


Grover, Marshall. 335. 


.McCoy, Isaiah, 228. 


Bonner. SnmucI A., 225. 
Bonner, Walter W., 316. 


H. 


McCrackcn, Hugh T., 319. 
.McCullough, W. F., 407. 


Boyd, Harry, 402. 




Meek, Jethro C, 395. 


Boyer, James M., 394. 


Hamilton, David N., 3M. 


Mendenhall, Edgar N., 336. 


Bracken. William, 392. 


Hamilton, Robert A., 262. 


Mendcnhall. James E., 365, 


Hraden. l.mhcr D., 290. 


Hamilton, R. P., 315. 


Miller, H. C, .305. 




Harper, James S., 260. 


Miller, John D., 35+ 


C. 


Harper, Mary E., 260. 


Miller, Theophilus E. F., 247. 




Hause, William, 351. 


-Montgomery, Robert S., 420. 


Clark, Janu-s B., 4.5. 


Hendricks Family, The, .?48. 


-Montgomery, Sarah A., 267. 


Coombs, Jacob, 377. 


Hittle, John P., 324. 


Moor. A. S., 413- 


Craven, Herman J., 225. 


Hogg, William, 390. 


-Moor, Milton G., 235. 


Cumback, William, 254. 


Holcomb. John W., 233. 


Moore, Benjamin F., 317. 




Hood, William T., 250. 


Morgan, David L., 293. 


D. 




-Morgan, James, 350. 




J. 


Morrison, John, 367. 


Davis, Aaron, 423. 




Moss. David, 421. 


Deem, Oliver, 286. 


Jackson, John H., 418. 




Donnell, Samuel A.. 280. 


Jenkins, Benjamin, 379. 


N. 


Dunn, George H., .^80. 


Jerman, Elmer C, 321. 
Johnson, Harry, 416. 




Johnson, Robert, 409. 


Nation. John W., 362. 


E. 


Johnson, Thomas, 271. 


Newhouse. Marshall E., 302. 


Elder, Dyer C. 241. 




p 


Ewing, Cortez, 230. 


K. 




Ewing, James K., 230. 
Ewing, Putnam, 251. 


Kammerling. Henry, 384. 
Kemble, Charles, 372. 


Parker, John W.. 30S. 
Parsons, -Milton F.. 37i- 


F. 


Kerrick, Nimrod, 419. 
Kincaid, William J., 353. 


Penington, Eli, .W7. 


Pleak, Coleman T., 404. 


Foley. James B.. 239. 




Pleak. Joseph D., 398. 


Foley, John J.. 240. 


L. 


Pleak, William R., 289. 


Forsyth, E. R., 285. 


Lambert. Paschal T., 298. 


Porter, Matthew E., 329. 


G. 


Lalhrop, James B., 296. 
Linch, Benjamin F., 388. 


R. 


Gardner. George P.. 417. 


Link, Henry. 386. 


Rcdington, John M., 337. 


Gaston, Benjamin F., 300. 


Logan, Samuel H., 426. 


Robbins, Frank R., 339- 



BIOGRAPHICAL COMPENDIUM OF DECATUR COUNTY. 



Robbins, James G., 326. 


Sefton, James. 376. 


V. 


Robbins, William A., 322. 


Shannon. William P., 343- 




Robbins, William H., 272. 


Shera, Elizabeth. 313- 


Van Bnskirk. Daniel R,, 243. 


Roberts, George L., 253. 


Shirk, Thomas A., 310. 


W. 


Robison, J. B., 246. 


Shoemaker, Gcm-ge P., 359- 


Robinson, William J., 288. 


Smith, Williani, 411- 


Walker, Joseph R,. 356. 


Ross, Marine D., 232. 


Stewan, I'aiil, j^;. 


Watson, William A., 386. 




Stimson. Samuel M., 223. 


White, Benjamin S., 328. 
Williams, Williain A., 385. 


S. 




Willoughby, Andrew M., 383. 




T. 


Wood, James M., 355- 


Schofield, J. v., 289. 




Wooden, John L., 400. 


Schnhz, E. G., 382. 


Talbott, Henry H., 308. 


Wooden, William H., 402. 


Sefton, Edward B.. 374. 


Thomson Family, The, 364. 


Woodfill. James M., 2,32,- 


Sefton, Isaac, 283. 


Tincher, Frank S., 373. 


Woodfill, William S., 368. 




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<^^ IRTR0DWeT0RY [ 




|HE greatest of English historians, Macaulay, and one of the most 
brilliant writers and profound thinkers of the present centurj', has 
said: "The history of a country is best told in a record of the 
lives of its people." This is a fact which is becoming more and 
more recognized as our people advance in education and intelli- 
gence, and our own great Emerson, whose name stands at the 
head of American writers of his day, in carrying forward and 
emphasizing the great fact expressed by Macaulay, says: "Biog- 
raphy is the only true history." It was for the purpose of gathering and preserving 
this biographical matter in enduring form that the design for this volume originated. 

COMPENDIUM OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY. 

Regarding the fore part of this volume, "Part I," which is devoted to a "Com- 
pendium OF National Biography," but little need be said. The lives of the great 
men and celebrities of America are so inaccessible to the general public, and are so 
often in demand without being accessible, that it has been deemed wise to gather 
together a vast number of the biographies of our nation's greatest men and include 
them in this work as a fitting preface to the life histories and biographies of the 
local parties which follow and embrace the latter part of the volume. It is not 
given to all men to become great in a national sense, but the life history of those 
who do, makes up the history of our nation, and as such the history of their lives 
should be in every home and library as a means of reference and education. 

compendium of local biography. 
That portion of the volume devoted to a "Compendium of Local Biography," 
or "Part II," is of the greatest value, and its value will increase as the years go by. 
In this department of local biography is carried out the object which led to the com- 
pilation of this work, in gathering together and placing in enduring form, before it 
becomes too late, the life history of those who have helped to build up this region 
and who have taken part in the progress and development in business, political, 
social, and agricultural affairs. The rank that any county holds among its sister 
counties depends largely upon the achievements of its citizens. Some add to its rep- 
utation by efficient public service, some by increasing its manufacturing or commercial 



12 INTRODUCTORY. 



interests, and some by adding to the general wealth and prosperity in cultivating and 
improving its lands. To give a faithful account of the lives of old settlers and rep- 
resentative citizens of this region is to write its history in the truest sense. Each 
year, as it rolls its endless way along the mighty pathway of time, is thinning the 
ranks of those hardy pioneers and old settlers whose lives are so thoroughly identi- 
fied with this region. The relentless hand of death, pursuing its remorseless and 
unceasing avocation, is cutting down, one by one, those whose life histories should 
be preserved as a part of the history of the growth and development of this region. 
The necessity for the collection and preservation of this matter, before it becomes 
too late, is the object of this work. 

Instead of going to musty records and taking therefrom dry statistical matter and 
official generalities, which can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have 
gone direct to the people, to the men and women who have by their enterprise and 
industry, brought about the development found in this region, and from their lips 
have written the story of their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive mat- 
ter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this department, devoted to Local 
Biography, will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of 
coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and 
economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for 
securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence 
widely extended. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to 
eminence, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in 
life who have striven to succeed, and records how success has usually crowned their 
efforts. It tells, also, of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the 
world, have pursued "the even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them 
as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy, — "they have done what 
they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left 
the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting room, left every trade 
and profession, and at their country's call went forth valiantly "to do or die," for 
the cause and principles they held so dear. In the life of every man and of every 
woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treas- 
ure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into pub- 
lic records, and which would otherwise be inaccessible and lost forever. Great care 
has been taken in the compilation of this work, and every opportunity for revision 
possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, 
and the publishers feel warranted in saying that they give to their readers a work 
with very few, if any, errors of consequence. 

In closing this brief introductory the memorable words of Carlyle fittingly express 
the hope, aim, and desire of the publishers in the compilation of this volume: "Let 
the record be made of the men and things of to-day, lest they pass out of memory 
to-morrow and are lost. Then perpetuate them, not upon wood or stone that crum- 
bles to dust, but chronicled in picture and in words that endure forever." 



f .. Part I .. | 



I ^ ^COMFENDIUMg :w I 

i* ....o:f.... 4 

I ^— NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY --^ | 

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COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 




Celebrated Americans 



'W^'^tl^'^a^ 




ior 



*1- ■ 

^ RORGE WASHINGTON 

the first president of the Unit- 
ed States, called the "Father 
•nirmn^mmm^ of his Country," was one of 
the most celebrated characters 
in history. He was born Feb- 
ruary 22, 1732, in Washing- 
ton Parish, Westmoreland county, Virginia. 
His father, Augustine Washington, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore him four 
children, and March fc, 1730, he ■ married 
Mary Ball. Of six children by his second 
marriage, George was the eldest. 

Little is known of the early years of 
Washington, beyond the fact that the house 
in which he was born was burned during his 
early childhood, and that his father there- 
upon moved to another farm, inherited from 
hii paternal ancestors, situated in Stafford 
county, on the north bank of the Rappahan- 
nock, and died there in 1743. From earliest 
childhood George developed a noble charac- 
ter. His education was somewhat defective, 
being confined to the elementary branches 
taught him by his mother and at a neighbor- 
ing school. On leaving school he resided 
some time at Mount Vernon with his half 



brother, Lawrence, who acted as his guar 
dian. George's inclinations were for a sea- 
faring career, and a midshipman's warrant 
was procured for him; but through the oppo- 
sition of his mother the project was aban- 
doned, and at the age of sixteen he was 
appointed survejor to the immense estates 
of the eccentric Lord Fairfax. Three years 
were passed by Washington in a rough fron- 
tier life, gaining experience which afterwards 
proved very essential to him. In 175 1, 
when the Virginia militia were put under 
training with a view to active service against 
France, Washington, though only nineteen 
years of age, was appointed adjutant, with 
the rank of major. In 1752 Lawrence 
Washington died, leaving his large property 
to an infant daughter. In his will George 
was named one of the executors and as an 
eventual heir to Mount Vernon, and by the 
death of the infant niece, soon succeeded to 
that estate. In 1753 George was commis- 
sioned adjutant-general of the Virginia 
militia, and performed important work at 
the outbreak of the French and Indian 
war, was rapidly promoted, and at the close of 
that war we find him commander-in-chief of 



18 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



all the forces raised in Virginia. A cessation 
of Indian hostilities on the frontier having 
followed the expulsion of the French from 
the Ohio, he resigned his commission as 
commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces, 
and then proceeded to Williamsburg to take 
his seat in the Virginia Assembly, of which 
he had been elected a member. 

January 17, 1759, Washington married 
Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Curtis, a young 
and beautiful widow of great wealth, and 
devoted himself for the ensuing fifteen years 
to the quiet pursuits of agriculture, inter- 
rupted only by the annual attendance in 
winter upon the colonial legislature at 
Williamsburg, until summoned by his coun- 
try to enter upon that other arena in which 
his fame was to become world-wide. The 
war for independence called Washington 
into service again, and he was made com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces, and 
was the most gallant and conspicuous figure 
in that bloody struggle, serving until Eng- 
land acknowledged the independence of 
each of the thirteen States, and negotiated 
with them jointly, as separate sovereignties. 
December 4, 1783, the great commander 
took leave of his officers in most affection- 
ate and patriotic terms, and went to An- 
napolis, Maryland, where the congress of 
the States was in session, and to that body, 
when peace and order prevailed everywhere, 
resigned his commission and retired to 
Mount Vernon. 

It was in 1789 that Washington was 
called to the chief magistracy of the na- 
tion. The inauguration took place April 
30, in the presence of an immense multi- 
tude which had assembled to witness the new 
and imposing ceremony. In the manifold de- 
tails of his civil administration Washington 
proved himself fully equal to the requirements 
of his position. In 1792, at the second presi- 



dential election, Washington was desirous 
to retire; but he yielded to the general wish 
of the country, and was again chosen presi- 
dent. At the third election, in 1796, he 
was again most urgently entreated to con- 
sent to remain in the executive chair. This 
he positively refused, and after March 4, 
1797, he again retired to Mount Vernon 
for peace, quiet, and repose. 

Of the call again made on this illustrious 
chief to quit his repose at Mount Ver- 
non and take command of all the United 
States forces, with rank of lieutenant-gen- 
eral, when war was threatened with France 
in 1798, nothing need here be stated, ex- 
cept to note the fact as an unmistakable 
testimonial of the high regard in which he 
was still held by his countrymen of all 
shades of political opinion. He patriotic- 
ally accepted this trust, but a treaty of 
peace put a stop to all action under it. He 
again retired to Mount Vernon, where he 
died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth 
year of his age. His remains were depos- 
ited in a family vault on the banks of the 
Potomac, at Mount Vernon, where they still 
lie entombed. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, an eminent 
American statesman and scientist, was 
born of poor parentage, January 17, 1706, 
in Boston, Massachusetts. He was appren- 
ticed to his brother James to learn the print- 
er's trade to prevent his running away and 
going to sea, and also because of the numer- 
ous family his parents had to support (there 
being seventeen children, Benjamin being 
the fifteenth). He was a great reader, and 
soon developed a taste for writing, and pre- 
pared a number of articles and had them 
published in the paper without his brother's 
knowledge, and when the authorship be- 
came known it resulted in difficulty for the 



LOMPHNDIUM OF BIOGRAr H7. 



young apprentice, although his articles had 
been received with favor by the public. 
James was afterwards thrown into prison for 
political reasons, and young Benjamin con- 
ducted the paper alone during the time. In 
1823, however, he determined to endure his 
bonds no longer, and ran away, going to 
Philadelphia, where he arrived with only 
three pence as his store of wealth. With 
these he purchased three rolls, and ate them 
as he walked along the streets. He soon 
found employment as a journeyman printer. 
Two years later he was sent to -England by 
the governor of Pennsylvania, and was 
promised the public printing, but did not get 
it. On his return to Philadelphia he estab- 
lished the "Pennsylvania Gazette," and 
soon found himself a person of great popu- 
larity in the province, his ability as a writer, 
philosopher, and politician having reached 
the neighboring colonies. He rapidly grew 
in prominence, founded the Philadelphia Li- 
brary in 1842, and two years later the 
American Philosophical Society and the 
University of Pennsylvania. He was made 
Fellow of the Royal Society in London in 
1775. His world-famous investigations in 
electricity and lightning began in 1746. He 
became postmaster-general of the colonies 
in 1753, having devised an inter-colonial 
postal system. He advocated the rights of 
the colonies at all times, and procured the 
repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. He was 
elected to the Continental congress of 1775, 
and in 1776 was a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, being one of the commit- 
tee appointed to draft that paper. He rep- 
resented the new nation in the courts of 
Europe, especially at Paris, where his simple 
dignity and homely wisdom won him the 
admiration of the court and the favor of the 
people. He was governor of Pennsylvania 
four years; was also a member of the con- 



vention in 1787 that drafted the constitution 
of the United States. 

His writings upon political topics, anti- 
slavery, finance, and economics, stamp him 
as one of the greatest statesmen of his time, 
while his "Autobiography" and "Poor 
Richard's Almanac " give him precedence in 
the literary field. In early life he was an 
avowed skeptic in religious matters, but 
later in life his utterances on this subject 
were less extreme, though he never ex- 
pressed approval of any sect or creed. He 
died in Philadelphia April 17, 1790. 



DANIEL WEBSTER.— Of world wide 
reputation for statesmanship, diplo- 
macy, and oratory, there is perhaps no more 
prominent figure in the history of our coun- 
try in the interval between 181 5 and 1861, 
than Daniel Webster. He was born at 
Salisbury (now Franklin), New Hampshire. 
January 18, 1782, and was the second son 
of Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster. 
He enjoyed but limited educational advan- 
tages in childhood, but spent a few months 
in 1797, at Phillip Exeter Academy. He 
completed his preparation for college in the 
family of Rev. Samuel Wood, at Boscawen, 
and entered Dartmouth College in the fall 
of 1797. He supported himself most of the 
time during these years by teaching school 
and graduated in 1801, having the credit of 
being the foremost scholar of his class. He 
entered the law office of Hon. Thomas W. 
Thompson, at Salisbury. In 1802 he con- 
tinued his legal studies at Fryeburg, Maine, 
where he was principal of the academy and 
copyist in the office of the register of 
deeds. In the office of Christopher Gore, 
at Boston, he completed his studies in 
1804-5, ^"'l W3S admitted to the bar in the 
latter year, and at Boscawen and at Ports- 
mouth soon rose to eminence in his profes- 



20 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



sion. He became known as a federalist 
but did not court political honors; but, at- 
tracting attention by his eloquence in oppos- 
ing the war with England, he was elected 
to congress in 1812. During the special 
session of May, 18 13, he was appointed on 
the committee on foreign affairs and made 
his maiden speech June 10, 1813. Through- 
out this session (as afterwards) he showed 
his mastery of the great economic questions 
of the day. He was re-elected in 18 14. In 
1 8 16 he removed to Boston and for seven 
years devoted himself to his profession, 
earning by his arguments in the celebrated 
"Dartmouth College Case" rank among 
the most distinguished jurists of the country. 
In 1820 Mr. Webster was chosen a member 
of the state convention of Massachusetts, to 
revise the constitution. The same year he 
delivered the famous discourse on the " Pil- 
grim fathers," which laid the foundation for 
his fame as an orator. Declining a nomi- 
nation for United States senator, in 1822 he 
was elected to the lower house of congress 
and was re-elected in 1824 and 1826, but in 
1827 was transferred to the senate. He 
retained his seat in the latter chamber until 
1 841. During this time his voice was ever 
lifted in defence of the national life and 
honor and although politically opposed to 
him he gave his support to the administra- 
tion of President Jackson in the latter's con- 
test with nullification. Through all these 
years he was ever found upon the side of 
right and justice and his speeches upon all 
the great questions of the day have be- 
come household words in almost every 
family. In 1841 Mr. Webster was appointed 
secretary of state by President Harrison 
and was continued in the same office by 
President Tyler. While an incumbent of 
this office he showed consummate ability as 
a diplomat in the negotiation of the " Ash- 



burton treaty " of August 9, 1849, which 
settled many points of dispute between the 
United States and England. In May, 1843, 
he resigned his post and resumed his pro- 
fession, and in December, 1845, took his 
place again in the senate. He contributed 
in an unofficial way to the solution of the 
Oregon question with Great Britain in 1847. 
He was disappointed in 1848 in not receiv- 
ing the nomination for the presidency. He 
became secretary of state under President 
Fillmore in 1850 and in dealing with all the 
complicated questions of the day showed a 
wonderful mastery of the arts of diplomacy. 
Being hurt in an accident he retired to his 
home at Marshfield, where he died Octo- 
ber 24, 1852. 

HORACE GREELEY.— As journalist, 
author, statesman and political leader, 
there is none more widely known than the 
man whose name heads this article. He 
was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, Feb- 
ruary 3, 181 1, and was reared upon a farm. 
At an early age he evinced a remarkable 
intelligence and love of learning, and at 
the age of ten had read every book he could 
borrow for miles around. About 1821 the 
family removed to Westhaven, Vermont, 
and for some years young Greeley assisted 
in carrying on the farm. In 1826 he entered 
the office of a weekly newspaper at East 
Poultney, Vermont, where he remained 
about four years. On the discontinuance 
of this paper he followed his father's 
family to Erie county, Pennsylvania, 
whither they had moved, and for a time 
worked at the printer's trade in that neigh- 
borhood. In 1 83 1 Horace went to New 
York City, and for a time found employ- 
ment as journeyman printer. January, 
1833, in partnership with Francis Story, he 
published the Moniing Post, the first penny 



compel: DiLwr of biographt. 



paper ever printed. This proved a failure 
and was discontinued after three weeks. 
The business of job printing was carried on, 
however, until the death of Mr. Story in 
July following. In company with Jonas 
Winchester, March 22, 1834, Mr. Greeley 
commenced the publication of the New 
Yorker, a weekly paper of a high character. 
For financial reasons, at the same time, 
Greeley wrote leaders for other papers, and, 
in 1838, took editorial charge of the Jeffer- 
soiiian, a Whig paper published at Albany. 
In 1840, on the discontinuance of that sheet, 
he devoted iiis energies to the Log- Cabin, a 
campaign paper in the interests of the Whig 
party. In the fall of 1841 the latter paper 
was consolidated with the Nezu Yorker, un- 
der the name of the Tribune, the first num- 
ber of which was issued April 10, 1841. At 
the head of this paper Mr. Greeley remained 
until the day of his death. 

In 1848 Horace Greeley was elected to 
the national house of representatives to 
fill a vacancy, and was a member of that 
body until March 4, 1849. In 1851 he went 
to Europe and served as a juror at the 
World's Fair at the Crystal Palace, Lon- 
don. In 1855, he made a second visit to 
the old world. In 1859 he crossed the 
plains and received a public reception at 
San Francisco and Sacramento. He was a 
member of the Republican national con- 
vention, at Chicago in i860, and assisted in 
the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for 
President. The same year he was a presi- 
dential elector for the state of New York, 
and a delegate to the Loyalist convention 
at Philadelphia. 

At the close of the war, in 1865, Mr. 
Greeley became a strong advocate of uni- 
versal amnesty and complete pacification, 
and in pursuance of this consented to be- 
come one of the bondsmen for Jefferson 



Davis, who was imprisoned for treason. In 
1867 he was a delegate to the New York 
state convention for the revision of the 
constitution. In 1870 he was defeated for 
congress in the Si.xth New York district. 
At the Liberal convention, which met in 
Cincinnati, in May, 1872, on the fifth ballot 
Horace Greeley was nominated for presi- 
dent and July following was nominated for 
the same office by the Democratic conven- 
tion at Baltimore. He was defeated by a 
large majority. The large amount of work 
done by him during the campaign, together 
with the loss of his wife about the same 
time, undermined his strong constitution, 
and he was seized with inflammation of the 
brain, and died November 29, 1872. 

In addition to his journalistic work, Mr. 
Greeley was the author of several meritori- 
ous works, among which were: "Hints 
toward reform," "Glances at Europe," 
" History of the struggle for slavery exten 
sion," "Overland journey to San Francis- 
co," "The American conflict," and " Rec- 
ollections of a busy life." 



HENRY CLAY. — In writing of this em- 
inent American, Horace Greeley once 
said: "He was a matchless party chief, an 
admirable orator, a skillful legislator, wield- 
ing unequaled influence, not only over his 
friends, but even over those of his political 
antagonists who were subjected to the magic 
of his conversation and manners. " A law- 
yer, legislator, orator, and statesman, few 
men in history have wielded greater influ- 
ence, or occupied so prominent a place in 
the hearts of the generation in which they 
lived. 

Henry Clay was born near Richmond, 
in Hanover county, \'irginia, April 12, 
1777, the son of a poor Baptist preacher 
who died when Henry was but five years 



22 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



old. The mother married again about ten 
years later and removed to Kentucky leav- 
ing Henry a clerk in a store at Richmond. 
Soon afterward Henry Clay secured a posi- 
tion as copyist in the office of the clerk of the 
high court of chancery, and four years later 
entered the law office of Robert Brooke, 
then attorney general and later governor of 
his native state. In 1797 Henry Clay was 
licensed as a lawyer and followed his mother 
to Kentucky^ opening an office at Lexington 
and soon built up a profitable practice. 
Soon afterward Kentucky, in separating from 
Virginia, called a state convention for the 
purpose of framing a constitution, and Clay 
at that time took a prominent part, publicly 
urging the adoption of a clause providing 
for the abolition of slavery, but in this he 
was overruled, as he was fifty years later, 
when in the height of his fame he again ad- 
vised the same course when the state con- 
stitution was revised in 1850. Young Clay 
took a very active and conspicuous part in 
the presidential campaign in 1800, favoring 
the election of Jefferson; and in 1803 was 
chosen to represent Fayette county in the 
state 'egislature. In 1806 General John 
Adair, then United States senator from 
Kentucky, resigned and Henry Clay was 
elected to fill the vacancy by the legislature 
and served through one session in which he 
at once assumed a prominent place. In 
1807 he was again a representative in the 
legislature and was elected speaker of the 
house. At this time originated his trouble 
with Humphrey Marshall. Clay proposed 
that each member clothe himself and family 
wholly in American fabrics, which Afarshall 
characterized as the " language of a dema- 
gogue." This led to a duel in which both 
parties were slightly injured. In 1809 
Henry Clay was again elected to fill a va- 
cancy in the United States senate, and two 



years later elected representative in tne low- 
er house of congress, being chosen speaker 
of the house. About this time war was de- 
clared against Great Britain, and Clay took 
a prominent public place during this strug- 
gle and was later one of the commissioners 
sent to Europe by President Madison to ne- 
gotiate peace, returning in September, 181 5, 
having been re-elected speaker of the 
house during his absence, and was re-elect- 
ed unanimously. He was afterward re- 
elected to congress and then became secre- 
tary of state und^r John Quincy Adams. 
In 1 83 1 he was again elected senator from 
Kentucky and remained in the senate most 
of the time until his death. 

Henry Clay was three times a candidate 
for the presidency, and once very nearly 
elected. He was the unanimous choice of 
the Whig party in 1844 for the presidency, 
and a great effort was made to elect him 
but without success, his opponent, James K. 
Polk, carrying both Pennsylvania and New 
York by a very slender margin, while either 
of them alone would have elected Clay. 
Henry Clay died at Washington Juije 29, 
1852. 

JAMES GILLESPIE BLAINE was one 
of the most distinguished of American 
statesmen and legislators. He was born 
January 31, 1830, in Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, and received a thorough edu- 
cation, graduating at Washington College in 
1847. In early life he removed to Maine 
and engaged in newspaper work, becoming 
editor of the Portland "Advertiser." While 
yet a young man he gained distinction as a 
debater and became a conspicuous figure in 
political and public affairs. In 1862 he was 
elected to congress on the Republican ticket 
in Maine and was re-elected five times. Iti 
March, 1869, he was chosen speaker of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGIiAPJ/r. 



house ot representatives and was re-elected 
in 1 87 1 and again in 1 873. In 1 876 he was 
a representative in the lower house of con- 
gress and during that year was appointed 
United States senator by the Governor to 
fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of 
Senator Morrill, who had been appointed 
secretary of the treasury. Mr. Blaine 
served in the senate until March 5, 1881, 
when President Garfield appointed him sec- 
retary of state, which position he resigned 
in December, i88i. Mr. Blaine was nom- 
inated for the presidency by the Republic- 
ans, at Chicago in June, 1884, but was de- 
feated by Grover Cleveland after an exciting 
and spirited campaign. During the later 
years of his life Mr. Blaine devoted most of 
his time to the completion of his work 
"Twenty Years in Congress," which had a 
remarkably large sale throughout the United 
States. Blaine was a man of great mental 
ability and force of character and during the 
latter part of his life was one of the most 
noted men of his time. He was the origina- 
torof what is termed the " reciprocity idea" 
in tariff matters, and outlined the plan of 
carrying it into practical effect. In 1876 
Robert G. Ingersoll in making a nominating 
speech placing Blaine's name as a candidate 
for president before the national Republican 
convention at Cincinnati, referred to Blaine 
as the " Plumed Knight " and this title clung 
to him during the remainder of his life. His 
death occurred at Washington, January 27, 
>893- 

JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, a dis- 
tinguished American statesman, was a 
native of South Carolina, born in Abbeville 
district, March i8, 1782. He was given 
the advantages of a thorough education, 
graduating at Yale College in 1804, and 
adopted the calling of a lawyer. A Demo- 



crat politically, at that time, he took a fore- 
most part in the councils of his party and 
was elected to congress in 18 1 1, supporting 
the tariff of 18 16 and the establishing of 
the United States Bank. In 18 17 he be- 
came secretary of war in President Monroe's 
cabinet, and in 1824 waselected vice-president 
of the United States, on the ticket with John 
Quincy Adams, and re-elected in 1 828, on the 
ticket with General Jackson. Shortly after 
this Mr. Calhoun became one of the strongest 
advocates of free trade and the principle of 
sovereignty of the states and was one of 
the originators of the doctrine that "any 
state could nullify unconstitutional laws of 
congress." Meanwhile Calhoun had be- 
come an aspirant for the presidency, and 
the fact that General Jackson advanced the 
interests of his opponent. Van Buren, led 
to a quarrel, and Calhoun resigned the vice- 
presidency in 1832 and was elected United 
States senator from South Carolina. It was 
during the same year that a convention was 
held in South Carolina at which the " Nul- 
lification ordinance " was adopted, the ob- 
ject of which was to test the constitution- 
ality of the protective tariff measures, and 
to prevent if possible the collection of im- 
port duties in that state which had been 
levied more for the purpose of ' ' protection " 
than revenue. This ordinance was to go 
into effect in February, 1833, and created a 
great deal of uneasiness throughout the 
country as it was feared there would be a 
clash between the state and federal authori- 
ties. It was in this serious condition of 
public affairs that Henry Clay came forward 
with the the famous "tariff compromise" 
of 1833, to which measure Calhoun and 
most of his followers gave their support and 
the crisis was averted. In 1843 Mr. Cal- 
houn was appointed secretary ot state in 
President Tyler's cabinet, and it was under 



24 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



his administration that the treaty concern- 
ing the annexation of Texas was negotiated. 
In 1845 he was re-elected to the United 
States senate and continued in the senate 
until his death, which occurred in March, 
1850. He occupied a high rank as a scholar, 
student and orator, and it is conceded that 
he was one of the greatest debaters America 
has produced. The famous debate between 
Calhoun and Webster, in 1833, is regarded 
as the most noted for ability and eloquence 
in the history of the country. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, one 
of America's most brilliant and pro- 
found lawyers and noted public men, was 
a native of New England, born at Deer- 
field, New Hampshire, November 5, 18 18. 
His father. Captain John Butler, was a 
prominent man in his day, commanded a 
company during the war of 181 2, and 
served under Jackson at New Orleans. 
Benjamin F. Butler was given an excellent 
education, graduated at Waterville College, 
Maine, studied law, was admitted to the 
bar in 1840, at Lowell, Massachusetts, 
where he commenced the practice of his 
profession and gained a wide reputation for 
his ability at the bar, acquiring an extensive 
practice and a fortune. Early in life he 
began taking an active interest in military 
affairs and served in the state militia through 
all grades from private to brigadier-general. 
In 1853 he was elected to the state legisla- 
ture on the Democratic ticket in Lowell, 
and took a prominent part in the passage of 
legislation in the interests of labor. Dur- 
ing the same year he was a member of the 
constitutional convention, and in 1859 rep- 
resented his district in the Massachusetts 
senate. When the Civil war broke out 
General Butler took the field and remained 
at the front most of the time during that 



bloody struggle. Fart of the time he had 
charge of Fortress Monroe, and in Febru- 
ary, 1862, took command of troops forming 
part of the expedition against New Orleans, 
and later had charge of the department of 
the Gulf. He was a conspicuous figure dur- 
ing the continuance of the war. After the 
close of hostilities General Butler resumed 
his law practice in Massachusetts and in 
1 866 was elected to congress from the Es- 
sex district. In 1882 he was elected gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, and in 1884 was the 
nominee of the " Greenback" party for 
president of the United States. He con- 
tinued his legal practice, and maintained his 
place as one of the most prominent men in 
New England until the time of his death, 
which occurred January 10, 1893. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS, an officer, states- 
man and legislator of prominence in 
America, gained the greater part of his fame 
from the fact that he was president of the 
southern confederacy. Mr. Davis was born 
in Christian county, Kentucky, June 3, 
1808, and his early education and surround- 
ings were such that his sympathies and in- 
clinations were wholly with the southern 
people. He received a thorough education, 
graduated at West Point in 1828, and for a 
number of years served in the army at west- 
ern posts and in frontier service, first as 
lieutenant and later as adjutant. In 1835 
he resigned and became a cotton planter in 
Warren county, Mississippi, where he took 
an active interest in public affairs and be- 
came a conspicuous figure in politics. In 
1844 he was a presidential elector from 
Mississippi and during the two following 
years served as congressman from his dis- 
trict. He then became colonel of a iviissis- 
sippi regiment in the war with Mexico ana 
participated in some of the most severe cai- 



COMPEXDIUM or BIOGRAPlir. 



25 



ties, being seriously wounded at Buena 
Vista. Upon his return to private life he 
again took a prominent part in political af- 
fairs and represented his state in the United 
States senate from 1847 to 185 1. He then 
entered President Pierce's cabinet as secre- 
tary of war, after which he again entered 
the United States senate, remaining until 
the outbreak of the Civil war. He then be- 
came president of the southern confederacy 
and served as such until captured in May, 
1865, at Irwinville, Georgia. He was held 
as prisoner of war at Fortress Monroe, until 
1867, when he was released on bail and 
finally set free in 1868. His death occurred 
December 6, 1889. 

Jefferson Davis was a man of excellent 
abilities and was recognized as one of the 
best organizers of his day. He was a 
forceful and fluent speaker and a ready 
writer. He wrote and published the " Rise 
and Fall of the Southern Confederacy," a 
work which is considered as authority by 
the southern people. 



JOHN ADAMS, the second president of 
the United States, and one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the early struggles of 
his country for independence, was born in 
the present town of Quincy, then a portion 
of Braintree, Massachusetts, October 30, 
1735. He received a thorough education, 
graduating at Harvard College in 1755, 
studied law and was admitted to the bar in 
1758. He was well adapted for this profes- 
sion and after opening an office in his native 
town rapidly grew in prominence and public 
favor and soon was regarded as one of the 
leading lawyers of the country. His atten- 
tion was called to political affairs by the 
passage of the Stamp Act, in 1765, and he 
drew up a set of resolutions on the subject 
which were very popular. In 1768 he re- 



moved to Boston and became one of the 
most courageous and prominent advocates 
of the popular cause and was chosen a 
member of the Colonial legislature from 
Boston. He was one of the delegates that 
represented Massachusetts in the first Con- 
tinental congress, which met in September, 
1774. In a letter written at this crisis he 
uttered the famous words: "The die is now 
cast; I have passed the Rubicon. Sink or 
swim, live or die, survive or perish with my 
country, is my unalterable determination." 
He was a prominent figure in congress and 
advocated the movement for independence 
when a majority of the members were in- 
clined to temporize and to petition the King. 
In May, 1776, he presented a resolution in 
congress that the colonies should assume 
the duty of self-government, which was 
passed. In June, of the same year, a reso- 
lution that the United States "are, and of 
right ought to be, free and independent," 
was moved by Richard H. Lee, seconded by 
Mr. Adams and adopted by a small majority. 
Mr. Adams was a member of the committee 
of five appointed June 1 1 to prepare a 
declaration of independence, in support of 
which he made an eloquent speech. He was 
chairman of the Board of War in 1776 and 
in 1778 was sent as commissioner to France, 
but returned the following year. In 1780 
he went to Europe, having been appointed 
as minister to negotiate a treaty of peace 
and commerce with Great Britain. Con- 
jointly with Franklin and Jay he negotiated 
a treaty in 1782. He was employed as a 
minister to the Court of St. James from 
1785 to 1788, and during that period wrote 
his famous " Defence of the American Con- 
stitutions." In 1789 he became vice-presi- 
dent of the United States and was re-elected 
in 1792. 

In 1796 Mr. Adams was chosen presi- 



26 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



dent of the United States, his competitor 
being Thomas Jefferson, who became vice- 
president. In 1800 he was the Federal 
candidate for president, but he was not 
cordially supported by Gen. Hamilton, the 
favorite leader of his party, and was de- 
feated by Thomas Jefferson. 

Mr. Adams then retired from public life 
to his large estate at Quincy, Mass. , where 
he died July 4, 1826, on the same day that 
witnessed the death of Thomas Jefferson. 
Though his physical frame began to give way 
many years before his death, his mental 
powers retained their strength and vigor to 
the last. In his ninetieth year he was glad- 
dened by .the elevation of his son, John 
Quincy Adams, to the presidential office. 



HENRY WARD BEECHER, one of the 
most celebrated American preachers 
and authors, was born at Litchfield, Connec- 
ticut, June 24,1813. His father was Dr. Ly- 
man Beecher, also an eminent divine. At 
an early age Henry Ward Beecher had a 
strong predilection for a sea-faring life, and 
it was practically decided that he would fol- 
low this inclination, but about this time, in 
consequence of deep religious impressions 
which he e.xperienced during a revival, he 
renounced his former intention and decided 
to enter the ministry. After having grad- 
uated at Amherst College, in 1834, he stud- 
ied theology at Lane Seminary under the 
tuition of his father, who was then president 
of that institution. In 1847 he became pas- 
tor of the Plymouth Congregational church 
in Brooklyn, where his oratorical ability and 
original eloquence attracted one of the larg- 
est congregations in the country. He con- 
tinued to served this church until the time 
of his death, March 8, 1887. Mr. Beecher 
also found time for a great amount of liter- 
ary work For a number of years he was 



editor of the "Independent" and also the 
' ' Christian Union. " He also produced many 
works which are widely known. Among his 
principal productions are ' 'Lectures to Young 
Men," " Star Papers, " "Life of Christ," 
"Life Thoughts," "Royal Truths" (a 
novel), "Norwood," " Evolution and Rev- 
olution," and " Sermons on Evolution and 
Religion. " Mr. Beecher was also long a 
prominent advocate of anti-slavery princi- 
ples and temperance reform, and, at a later 
period, of the rights of women. 



JOHN A. LOGAN, the illustrious states- 
man and general, was born in Jackson 
county, Illinois, February 9, 1824. In his 
boyhood days he received but a limited edu- 
cation in the schools of his native county. 
On the breaking out of the war with Mexico 
he enlisted in the First Illinois Volunteers 
and became its quartermaster. At the close 
of hostilities he returned home and was 
elected clerk of the courts of Jackson county 
in 1849. Determining to supplement his 
education Logan entered the Louisville Uni- 
versity, from which he graduated in 1852 
and taking up the study of law was admitted 
to the bar. He attained popularity and suc- 
cess in his chosen profession and was elected 
to the legislature in 1852, 1853, 1856 and 
1857. He was prosecuting attorney from 
1853 to 1S57. He was elected to congress 
in 1858 to fill a vacancy and again in i860. 
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, Logan re- 
signed his office and entered the army, and 
in September, 1861, was appointed colonel 
of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, which he 
led in the battles of Belmont and Fort Don- 
elson. In the latter engagement he was 
wounded. In March, 1862, he was pro- 
moted to be brigadier-general and in the 
following month participated in the battles 
of Pittsburg Landing. In November, 1862, 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



29 



f )r gallant conduct he was made major-gen- 
eral. Throughout the Vicksburg campaign 
he was in command of a division of the Sev- 
enteenth Corps and was distinguished at 
Port Gibson, Champion Hills and in the 
siege and capture cf Vicksburg. In October, 
1S63, he was placed in command of the 
Fifteenth Corps, which he led with great 
credit. During the terrible conflict before 
Atlanta, July 22, 1864, on the death of 
General McPherson, Logan, assuming com- 
mand of the Army of the Tennessee, led it 
on to victory, saving the day by his energy 
and ability. He was shortly after succeeded 
by General O. O. Howard and returned to 
the command of his corps. He remained 
in coinmand until the presidential election, 
when, feeling that his influence was needed 
at home he returned thither and there re- 
mained until the arrival of Sherman at Sa- 
vannah, when General Logan rejoined his 
coinmand. In May, 1865, he succeeded 
General Howard at the head of the Army of 
the Tennessee. He resigned from the army 
in August, the same year, and in November 
was appointed minister to Mexico, but de- 
clined the honor. He served in the lower 
house of the fortieth and forty-first con- 
gresses, and was elected United States sena- 
tor from his native state in 1870, 1878 and 
1885. He was nominated for the vice-presi- 
dency in 1884 on the ticiiet with Blaine, but 
was defeated. General Logan was the 
author of "The Great Conspiracy, its origin 
and history," published in 1885. He died 
at Washington, December 26, 1886. 



JOHN CHARLES FREMONT, the first 
Republican candidate for president, was 
born in Savannah, Georgia, January 21^ 
18 1 3. He graduated from Charleston Col- 
lege (South Carolina^ in 1830, and turned his 

attention to civil engineering. He was shortly 
2 



afterward employed in the department of 
government surveys on the Mississippi, and 
constructing maps of that region. He was 
made lieutenant of engineers, and laid be- 
fore the war department a plan for pene- 
trating the Rocky Mountain regions, which 
was accepted, and in 1842 he set out upon 
his first famous exploring expedition and ex- 
plored the South Pass. He also planned an 
expedition to Oregon by a new route further 
south, but afterward joined his expedition 
with that of Wilkes in the region of the 
Great Salt Lake. He made a later expedi- 
tion which penetrated the Sierra Nevadas, 
and the San Joaquin and Sacramento river 
valleys, making maps of all regions explored. 
In 1845 he conducted the great expedi- 
tion which resulted in the acquisition of 
California, which it was believed the Mexi- 
can government was about to dispose of to 
England. Learning that the Mexican gov- 
ernor was preparing to attack tne American 
settlements in his dominion, Fremont deter- 
mined to forestall him. The settlers rallied 
to his camp, and in June, 1846, he defeated 
the Mexican forces at Sonoma Pass, and a 
month later completely routed the governor 
and his entire army. The Americans at 
once declared their independence of Mexico, 
and Fremont was elected governor of Cali- 
fornia. By this time Commodore Stockton 
had reached the coast with instructions from 
Washington to conquer California. Fre- 
mont at once joined him in that effort, which 
resulted in the annexation of California with 
its untold mineral wealth. Later Fremont 
became involved in a difficulty with fellow 
officers which resulted in a court martial, 
and the surrender of his commission. He 
declined to accept reinstatement. He af- 
terward laid out a great road from the Mis- 
sissippi river to San Francisco, and became 
the first United States senator from Califor- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



nia, in 1849. In 1856 he was nominated 
by the new RepubHcan party as its first can- 
didate for president against Buchanan, and 
received 114 electoral votes, out of 296. 

In 1 86 1 he was made major-general and 
placed in charge of the western department. 
He planned the reclaiming of the entire 
Mississippi valley, and gathered an army of 
thirty thousand men, with plenty of artil- 
lery, and was ready to move upon the con- 
federate General Price, when he was de- 
prived of his command. He was nominated 
for the presidency at Cincinnati in 1864, but 
withdrew. He was governor of Arizona in 
1878, holding the position four years. He 
was interested in an engineering enterprise 
looking toward a great southern trans-con- 
tinental railroad, and in his later years also 
practiced law in New York. He died July 1 3, 



WENDELL PHILLIPS, the orator and 
abolitionist, and a conspicuous figure 
in American history, was born November 
29, 181 1, at Boston, Massachusetts. He 
received a good education at Harvard 
College, from which he graduated in 1831, 
and then entered the Cambridge Law School . 
After completing his course in that institu- 
tion, in 1833, he was admitted to the bar, 
in 1834, at Suffolk. He entered the arena 
of life at the time when the forces of lib- 
erty and slavery had already begun their 
struggle that was to culminate in the Civil 
war. William Lloyd Garrison, by his clear- 
headed, courageous declafations of the anti- 
slavery principles, had done much to bring 
about this struggle. Mr. Phillips was not a 
man that could stand aside and see a great 
struggle being carried on in the interest of 
humanity and look passively on. He first 
attracted attention as an orator in 1837, at 
a meeting that was called to protest against 



the murder of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. 
The meeting would have ended in a few 
perfunctory resolutions had not Mr. Phillips 
by his manly eloquence taken the meeting 
out of the hands of the few that were in- 
clined to temporize and avoid radical utter- 
ances. Having once started out in this ca- 
reer as an abolitionist Phillips never swerved 
from what he deemed his duty, and never 
turned back. He gave up his legal practice 
and launched himself heart and soul in the 
movement for the liberation of the slaves. 
He was an orator of very great ability and 
by his earnest efforts and eloquence he did 
much in arousing public sentiment in behalf 
of the anti-slavery cause — possibly more 
than any one man of his time. After the 
abolition of slavery Mr. Phillips was, if pos- 
sible, even busier than before m the literary 
and lecture field. Besides temperance and 
women's rights, he lectured often and wrote 
much on finance, and the relations of labor 
and capital, and his utterances on whatever 
subject always bore the stamp of having 
emanated from a master mind. Eminent 
critics have stated that it might fairly be 
questioned whether there has ever spoken 
in America an orator superior to Phillips. 
The death of this great man occurred Feb- 
ruary 4, 1884. 



WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 
was one of the greatest generals that 
the world has ever produced and won im- 
mortal fame by that strategic and famous 
" march to the sea," in the war of the Re- 
bellion. He was born February 8, 1820, at 
Lancaster, Ohio, and was reared in the 
family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, as his 
father died when he was but nine years of 
age. He entered West Point in 1836, wa? 
graduated from the same in 1840, and ap- 
pointed a second lieutenant in the Third 



COMPEXDIUM OF HIOGRAPHT. 



Artillery. He passed through the various 
grades of the service and at the outbreak of 
the Civil war was appointed colonel of the 
Thirteenth Ref^ular Infantry. A full history 
of General Sherman's conspicuous services 
would be to repeat a history of the army. 
He commanded a division at Shiloh, and 
was instrumental in the winning of that bat- 
tle, and was also present at the siege of Vicks- 
burg. On July 4, 1863, he was appointed 
brigadier-general of the regular army, and 
shared with Hooker the victory of Mission- 
ary Ridge. He was commander of the De- 
parvment of the Tennessee from October 
27th until the appointment of General 
Grant as lieutenant-general, by whom he 
was appointed to the command of the De- 
partment of the Mississippi, which he as- 
sumed in March, 1864. He at once began 
organizing the army and enlarging his com- 
nuinications preparatory to his march upon 
Atlanta, which he started the same time of 
the beginning of the Richmond campaign by 
Grant. He started on May 6, and was op- 
posed by Johnston, who had fifty thousand 
men, but by consummate generalship, he 
captured Atlanta, on September 2, after 
several months of hard fighting and a severe 
loss of men. General Sherman started on 
his famous march to the sea November 15, 
1864, and by December 10 he was before 
Savannah, which he took on December 23. 
This campaign is a monument to the genius 
of General Sherman as he only lost 567 
men from Atlanta to the sea. After rest- 
ing his army he moved northward and occu- 
pied the following places: Columbia, 
Cheraw, Fayetteville, Ayersboro, Benton- 
ville, Goldsboro, Raleigh, and April 18, he 
accepted the surrender of Johnston's army 
on a basis of agreement that was not re- 
ceived by the Government with favor, but 
finally accorded Johnston the same terms as 



Lee was given by General Grant. He was 
present at the grand review at Washington, 
and after the close of the war was appointed 
to the command of the military division of 
the Mississippi; later was appointed lieu- 
tenant-general, and assigned to the military 
division of the Missouri. When General 
Grant was elected president Sherman became 
general, March 4, 1869, and succeeded to 
the command of the army. His death oc- 
curred February 14, 1891, at Washington. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON, one of the 
most prominent of the early American 
statesmen and financiers, was born in Nevis, 
an island of the West Indies, January 11, 
1757, his father being a Scotchman and his 
mother of Huguenot descent. Owing to the 
death of his mother and business reverses 
which came to his father, young Hamilton 
was sent to his mother's relatives in Santa 
Cruz; a few years later was sent to a gram- 
mar school at Elizabethtown, Nevv Jersey, 
and in 1773 entered what is now known as 
Columbia College. Even at that time he 
began taking an active part in public affairs 
and his speeches, pamphlets, and newspaper 
articles on political affairs of the day at- 
tracted considerable attention. In 1776 he 
received a captain's commission and served 
in Washington's army with credit, becoming 
aide-de-camp to Washington with rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. In 1781 he resigned his 
commission because of a rebuke from Gen- 
eral Washington. He next received com- 
mand of a New York battalion and partici- 
pated in the battle of Yorktown. After 
this Hamilton studied law, served several 
terms in congress and was a member of the 
convention at which the Federal Constitu- 
tion was drawn up. His work connected 
with " The Federalist " at about this time 
attracted much attention. Mr. Hamilton 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



was chosen as the first secretary of the 
United States treasury and as such was the 
author of the funding system and founder of 
the United States Bank. In 1798 he was 
made inspector-general of the army with the 
rank of major-general and was also for a 
short time commander-in-chief. In 1 804 
Aaron Burr, then candidate for governor of 
New York, challenged Alexander Hamilton 
to fight a duel, Burr attributing his defeat 
to Hamilton's opposition, and Hamilton, 
though declaring the code as a relic of bar- 
barism, accepted the challenge. They met 
at Weehawken, New Jersey, July 11, 1804. 
Hamilton declined to fire at his adversary, 
but at Burr's first fire was fatally wounded 
and died July 12, 1804. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPH- 
ENS, vice-president of the southern 
confederacy, a former United States senator 
and governor of Georgia, ranks among the 
great men of American history. He was born 
February 11, 1812, near Crawfordsviile, 
Georgia. He was a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Georgia, and admitted to the bar 
in 1834. In 1837 he made his debut in 
political life as a member of the state house 
of representatives, and in 1 841 declined the 
nomination for the same office; but in 1842 
he was chosen by the same constituency as 
state senator. Mr. Stephens was one of 
the promoters of the Western and Atlantic 
Railroad. In 1843 he was sent by his dis- 
trict to the national house of representatives, 
which office he held for sixteen consec- 
utive years. He was a member of the 
house during the passing of the Compromise 
Bill, and was one of its ablest and most 
active supporters. The same year (1850) 
Mr. Stephens was a delegate to the state 
convention that framed the celebrated 
" Georgia Platform," and was also a dele- 



gate to the convention that passed the ordi- 
nance of secession, though he bitterly op- 
posed that bill by voice and vote, yet he 
readily acquiesced in their decision after 
it received the votes of the majority of the 
convention. He was chosen vice-president 
of the confederacy without opposition, and 
in 1865 he was the head of the commis- 
sion sent by the south to the Hampton 
Roads conference. He was arrested after 
the fall of the confederacy and was con- 
fined in Fort Warren as a prisoner of state 
but was released on his own parole. Mr. 
Stephens was elected to the forty-third, 
forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth and for- 
ty-seventh congresses, with hardly more than 
nominal opposition. He was one of the 
Jeffersonian school of American politics. 
He wrote a number of works, principal 
among which are: "Constitutional View 
of the War between the States," and a 
" Compendium of the History of the United 
States." He was inaugurated as governor 
of Georgia November 4th, 1882, but died 
March 4, 1883, before the completion of 
his term. 

ROSCOE CONKLING was one of the 
most noted and famous of American 
statesmen. He was among the most fin- 
ished, fluent and eloquent orators that have 
ever graced the halls of the American con- 
gress; ever ready, witty and bitter in de- 
bate he was at once admired and feared by 
his political opponents and revered by his 
followers. True to his friends, loyal to the 
last degree to those with whom his inter- 
ests were associated, he was unsparing to his 
foes and it is said "never forgot an injury." 
Roscoe Conkling was born at Albany, 
New York, on the 30th of October, 1829, 
being a son of Alfred Conkling. Alfred 
Conkling was also a native of New York, 



CO.VPEADICM OF BIOGRAPHl- 



3R 



born at East Hampton, October 12, 1789, 
ami became one of the most eminent law- 
yers in the Empire state; pubhshed several 
legal works; served a term in congress; aft- 
erw.ird as United States district judge for 
Northern New York, and in 1S52 was min- 
ister to Mexico. Alfred Conkling died in 
1874. 

Roscoe Conkling, whose name heads 
this article, at an early age took up the 
study of law and soon became successful and 
prominent at the bar. About 1846 he re- 
moved to Utica and in 1858 was elected 
mayor of that city. He was elected repre- 
sentative in congress from this district and 
was re-elected three times. In 1867 he was 
elected United States senator from the state 
of New York and was re-elected in 1873 
and 1879. In May, 1881, he resigned on 
account of differences with the president. 
In March, 1882, he was appointed and con- 
firmed as associate justice of the United 
States supreme court but declined to serve. 
His death occurred April 18, 1888. 



WASHINGTON IRVING, one of the 
most eminent, talented and popu- 
lar of American authors, was born in New 
York City, April 3, 1783. His father was 
William Irving, a merchant and a native of 
Scotland, who had married an English lady 
and emigrated to America some twenty 
years prior to the birth of Washington. 
Two of the older sons, William and Peter, 
were partially occupied with newspaper 
work and literary pursuits, and this fact 
naturally inclined Washington to follow 
their example. Washington Irving was given 
the advantages afforded by the common 
schools until about sixteen years of age 
when he began studying law, but continued 
to acquire his literary training by diligent 
perusal at home of the older English writers. 



When nineteen he made his first literary 
venture by printing in the ' ' Morning Chroni- 
cle," then edited by his brother, Dr. Peter 
Irving, a series of local sketches under the 
nom-dc-plumc oi " Jonathan Oldstyle." In 
1804 he began an extensive trip through 
Europe, returned in 1806, quickly com- 
pleted his legal studies and was admitted to 
the bar, but never practiced the profession. 
In 1807 he began the amusing serial "Sal- 
magundi," which had an immediate suc- 
cess, and not only decided his future 
career but long determined the charac- 
ter of his writings. In 1808, assisted by 
his brother Peter, he wrote " Knickerbock- 
er's History of New York," and in 18 10 an 
excellent biography of Campbell, the poet. 
After this, for some time, Irving's attention 
was occupied by mercantile interests, but 
the commercial house in which he was a 
partner failed in 1817. In 1814 he was 
editor of the Philadelphia "Analectic Maga- 
zine. " About 1 81 8 appeared his "Sketch- 
Book, " over the nom-de-plumc of ' 'Geoffrey 
Crayon," which laid the foundation of Ir- 
ving's fortune and permanent fame. This 
was soon followed by the legends of 
"Sleepy Hollow," and " Rip Van Winkle," 
which at once took high rank as literary 
productions, and Irving's reputation was 
firmly established in both the old and new 
worlds. After this the path of Irving was 
smooth, and his subsequent writings ap- 
peared with rapidity, including "Brace- 
bridge Hall," "The Tales of a Traveler," 
" History of the Life and \'oyages of Chris- 
topher Columbus," "The Conquest of 
Granada," "The Alhambra," " Tour on 
the Prairies," "Astoria," "Adventures of 
Captain Bonneville," "Wolfert's Roost." 
" Mahomet and his Successors," and "Life 
of Washington," besides other works. 

Washington Irving was never married. 



84 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



He resided during the closing years of his 
hfe at Sunnyside (Tarrytown) on the Hud- 
son, where he died November 28, 1859. 



CHARLES SUMNER.— Boldly outlined 
on the pages of our history stands out 
the rugged figure of Charles Sumner, states- 
man, lawyer and writer. A man of unim- 
peachable integrity, indomitable will and 
with the power of tireless toil, he was a fit 
leader in troublous times. First in rank as 
an anti-slavery leader in the halls of con- 
gress, he has stamped his image upon the 
annals of his time. As an orator he took 
front rank and, in wealth of illustration, 
rhetoric and lofty tone his eloquence equals 
anything to be found in history. 

Charles Sumner was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, January 6, 181 1, and was 
the son of Charles P. and Relief J. Sumner. 
The family had long been prominent in that 
state. Charles was educated at the Boston 
Public Latin School; entered Harvard Col- 
lege in 1826, and graduated therefrom in 
1830. In 1 83 1 he joined the Harvard Law 
School, then under charge of Judge Story, 
and gave himself up to the study of law 
with enthusiasm. His leisure was devoted 
to contributing to the American Jurist. Ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1834 he was appointed 
reporter to the circuit court by Judge Story. 
He published several works about this time, 
and from 1835 to 1837 and again in 1843 
was lecturer in the law school. He had 
planned a lawyer's life, but in 1845 he gave 
his attention to politics, speaking and working 
against the admission of Te.xas to the Union 
and subsequently against the Mexican war. 
In 1848 he was defeated for congress on the 
Free Soil ticket. His stand on the anti- 
slavery question at that time alienated both 
friends and clients, but he never swerved 
from his convictions. In 1851 he was elected 



to the United States senate and took his 
seat therein December i of that year. From 
this time his life became the history of the 
anti-slavery cause in congress. In August, 
1852, he began his attacks on slavery by a 
masterly argument for the repeal of the 
fugitive slave law. On May 22, 1856, Pres- 
ton Brooks, nephew of Senator Butler, of 
South Carolina, made an attack upon Mr. 
Sumner, at his desk in the senate, striking 
him over the head with a heavy cane. The 
attack was quite serious in its effects and 
kept Mr. Sumner absent from his seat in the 
senate for about four years. In 1857, 1863 
and 1869 he was re-elected to the office of 
senator, passing some twenty-three years in 
that position, always advocating the rights 
of freedom and equity. He died March 11, 
1874- 

THOMAS JEFFERSON, the third pres- 
ident of the United States, was born 
near Charlottesville, Albemarle county, Vir- 
ginia, April 13, 1743, and was the son of 
Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson. He 
received the elements of a good education, 
and in 1760 entered William and Mary Col- 
lege. After remaining in that institution for 
two years he took up the study of law with 
George Wythe, of Williamsburg, Virginia, 
one of the foremost lawyers of his day, and 
was admitted to practice in 1767. He ob- 
tained a large and profitable practice, which 
he held for eight years. The conflict be- 
tween Great Britain and the Colonies then 
drew him into public life, he having for 
some time given his attention to the study 
of the sources of law, the origin of liberty 
and equal rights. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to the Virginia 
house of burgesses in 1769, and served in 
that body several years, a firm supporter of 
liberal measures, and, although a slave- 



COMPEXDir.^r OF B/OGRAPH}'. 



holder himself, an opponent of slavery. 
With others, he was a leader among the op- 
position to the king. He took his place as 
a member of the Continental congress June 
21, 1775, and after serving on several com- 
mittees was appointed to draught a Declara- 
tion of Independence, which he did, some 
corrections being suggested by Dr. Franklin 
and John Adams. This document was pre- 
sented to congress June 28, 1776, and after 
si.x days' debate was passed and was signed. 
In the following September Mr. Jefferson 
resumed his seat in the Virginia legislature, 
and gave much time to the adapting of laws 
of that state to the new condition of things. 
He drew up the law, the first ever passed by 
a legislature or adopted by a government, 
which secured perfect religious freedom. 
June I, 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry 
as governor of Virginia, an office which, 
after co-operating with Washington in de- 
fending the country, he resigned two years 
later. One of his own estates was ravaged 
by the British, and his house at Monticello 
was held by Tarleton for several days, and 
Jefferson narrowly escaped capture. After 
the death of his wife, in 1782, he accepted 
the position of plenipotentiary to France, 
which he had declined in 1776. Before 
leaving he served a short time in congress 
at Annapolis, and succeeded in carrying a 
bill for establishing our present decimal sys- 
tem of currency, one of his most useful pub- 
lic services. He remained in an official ca- 
pacity until October, 1789, and was a most 
active and vigilant minister. Besides the 
onerous duties of his office, during this time, 
he published "Notes on Virginia," sent to 
the United States seeds, shrubs and plants, 
forwarded literary and scientific news and 
gave useful advice to some of the leaders of 
the French Revolution. 

Mr. Jefferson landed in Virginia Novem- 



ber 18, 1789, having obtained a leave of 
absence from his post, and shortly after ac- 
cepted Washington's offer of the portfolio 
of the department of state in his cabinet. 
He entered upon the duties of his office in 
March, 1791, and held it until January i, 
1794, when he tendered his resignation. 
About this time he and Alexander Hamilton 
became decided and aggressive political op- 
ponents, Jefferson being in warm sympathy 
with the people in the French revolution 
and strongly democratic in his feelings, 
while Hamilton took the opposite side. In 
1796 Jefferson was elected vice-president of 
the United States. In 1800 he was elected 
to the presidency and was inaugurated 
March 4, 1801. During his administration, 
which lasted for eight years, he having been 
re-elected in 1804, he waged a successful 
war against the Tripolitan pirates; purchased 
Louisiana of Napoleon; reduced the public 
debt, and was the originator of many wise 
measures. Declining a nomination for a 
third term he returned to Monticello, where 
he died July 4, 1826, but a few hours before 
the death of his friend, John Adams. 

Mr. Jefferson was married January i, 
1772, to Mrs. Martha Skelton, a young, 
beautiful, and wealthy widow, who died 
September 6, 1782, leaving three children, 
three more having died previous to her 
demise. 

COI^NELIUS VANDERBILT,known as 
' ' Commodore " Vanderbilt, was the 
founder of what constitutes the present im- 
mense fortune of the Vanderbilt family. He 
was born May 27, 1794, at Port Richmond, 
Staten Island, Richmond county, New 
York, and we find him at sixteen years run- 
ning a small vessel between his home and 
New York City. The fortifications of Sta- 
ten and Long Islands were just in course of 



36 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



construction, and he carried the laborers 
from New York to the fortifications in his 
" perianger, " as it was called, in the day, 
and at night carried supplies to the fort on 
the Hudson. Later he removed to New 
York, where he added to his little fleet. At 
the age of twenty-three he was free from 
debt and was worth $9,000, and in 18 17, 
with a partner he built the first steamboat 
that was run between New York and New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, and became her 
captain at a salary of $1,000 a year. The 
next year he took command of a larger and 
better boat and by 1824 he was in complete 
control of the Gibbon's Line, as it was 
called, which he had brought up to a point 
where it paid $40,000 a year. Commodore 
Vanderbilt acquired the ferry between New 
York and Elizabethport, New Jersey, on a 
fourteen years' lease and conducted this on 
a paying basis. He severed his connections 
with Gibbons in 1829 and engaged in 
business alone and for twenty years he was 
the leading steamboat man in the country, 
building and operating steamboats on the 
Hudson River, Long Island Sound, on the 
Delaware River and the route to Boston, 
and he had the monopoly of trade on these 
routes. In 1850 he determined to broaden 
his field of operation and accordingly built 
the steamship Prometheus and sailed for 
the Isthmus of Darien, where he desired to 
make a personal investigation of the pros- 
pects of the American Atlantic and Pacific 
Ship Canal Company, in which he had pur- 
chased a controlling interest. Commodore 
Vanderbilt planned, as a result of this visit, 
a transit route from Greytown on the At- 
lantic coast to San Juan del Sud on the Pa- 
cific coast, which was a saving of 700 miles 
over the old route. In 1851 he placed three 
steamers on the Atlantic side and four on 
the Pacific side to accommodate the enor- 



mous traffic occasioned by the discovery of 
gold in California. The following year 
three more vessels were added to his fleet 
and a branch line established from New 
Orleans to Greytown. In 1853 the Com- 
modore sold out hisNicarauguaTransit Com- 
pany, which had netted him $1,000,000 
and built the renowned steam yacht, the 
"North Star." He continued in the ship- 
ping business nine years longer and accu- 
mulated some $10,000,000. In 1861 he 
presented to the government his magnifi- 
cent steamer " Vanderbilt, " which had cost 
him $800,000 and for which he received the 
thanks of congress. In 1844 he became 
interested in the railroad business which he 
followed in later years and became one of 
the greatest railroad magnates of his time. 
He founded the Vanderbilt University at a 
cost of $1,000,000. He died January 4, 
1877, leaving a fortune estimated at over 
$ 1 00, 000, 000 to his children. 



DANIEL BOONE was one of the most 
famous of the many American scouts, 
pioneers and hunters which the early settle- 
ment of the western states brought into 
prominence. Daniel Boone was born Feb- 
ruary II, 1735, in Bucks county, Pennsyl- 
vania, but while yet a young man removed 
to North Carolina, where he was married. 
In 1769, with five companions, he pene- 
trated into the forests and wilds of Kentucky 
— then uninhabited by white men. He had 
frequent conflicts with the Indians and was 
captured by them but escaped and continued 
to hunt in and explore that region for over 
a year, when, in 1771, he returned to his 
home. In the summer of 1773, he removed 
with his own and five other families into 
what was then the wilderness of Kentucky, 
and to defend his colony against the savages, 
he built, in 1775, ^ ^^^'^ ^^ Boonesborough, 



co^rrExnn■^^ of BTOcRArnr. 



on the Kentucky river. This fort was at- 
tacked by the Indians several times in 1777, 
but they were repulsed. The following 
year, however, Boone was surprised and 
captured by them. They took him to De- 
troit and treated him with leniency, but he 
soon escaped and returned to his fort which 
he defended with success against four hun- 
dred and fifty Indians in August, 1778. His 
son, Enoch Boone, was the first white male 
child born in the state of Kentucky. In 
1795 Daniel Boone removed with his family 
to Missouri, locating about forty-five miles 
west of the present site of St. Louis, where 
he found fresh fields for his favorite pursuits 
— adventure, hunting, and pioneer life. His 
death occurred September 20, 1820. 

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFEL- 
LOW, said to have been America's 
greatest "poet of the people," was born at 
Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. He 
entered Bowdoin College at the age of four- 
teen, and graduated in 1825. During his 
college days he distinguished himself in mod- 
ern languages, and wrote several short 
poems, one of the best known of which was 
the " Hymn of the Moravian Nuns." After 
his graduation he entered the law office of 
his father, but the following year was offered 
the professorship of modern languages at 
Bowdoin, with the privilege of three years 
study in Europe to perfect himself in French, 
Spanish, Italian and German. After the 
three years were passed he returned to the 
United States and entered upon his profes- 
sorship in 1829. His first volume was a 
small essay on the "Moral and Devotional 
Poetry of Spain" in 1833. In 1835 he pub- 
lished some prose sketches of travel under 
the title of "Outre Mer, a Pilgrimage be- 
yond the Sea." In 1S35 he was elected to 
the chair of modern languages and literature 



at Harvard University and spent a year in 
Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, culti- 
vating a knowledge of early Scandinavian 
literature and entered upon his professor- 
ship in 1836. Mr. Longfellow published in 
1839 " Hyperion, a Romance," and "Voices 
of the Night, " and his first volume of original 
verse comprising the selected poems of 
twenty years work, procured him immediate 
recognition as a poet. " Ballads and other 
poems" appeared in 1842, the "Spanish 
Student " a drama in three acts, in 1843, 
"The Belfry of Bruges " in 1846, "Evan- 
geline, a Tale of Acadia," in 1847, which 
was considered his master piece. In 1845 
he published a large volume of the "Poets 
and Poetry of Europe," 1849 " Kavanagh, 
a Tale," ''The Seaside and Fireside" in 
1850, "The Golden Legend" in 185 1, "The 
Song of Hiawatha " in 1855, "The Court- 
ship of Miles Standish " in 1858, " Tales of 
a Wayside Inn " in 1863; " Flower de Luce" 
in 1866;" "New England Tragedies" in 
1869; "The Divine Tragedy" in 1871; 
"Three Books of Song" in 1872; "The 
Hanging of the Crane " in 1874. He also 
published a masterly translation of Dante 
in 1867-70 and the " Morituri Salutamus," 
a poem read at the fiftieth anniversary of 
his class at Bowdoin College. Prof. Long- 
fellow resigned his chair at Harvard Univer- 
sity in 1854, but continued to reside at Cam- 
bridge. Some of his poetical works have 
been translated into many languages, and 
their popularity rivals that of the best mod- 
ern English poetry. He died March 24, 
1882, but has left an imperishable fame as 
one of the foremost of American poets. 



PETER COOPER was in three partic- 
ulars — as a capitalist and manufacturer, 
as an inventor, and as a philanthropist — 
connected intimately with some of the most 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



important and useful accessions to the in- 
dustrial arts of America, its progress in in- 
vention and the promotion of educational 
and benevolent institutions intended for the 
benefit of people at large. He was born 
in New York city, February 12, 1791. His 
life was one of labor and struggle, as it was 
with most of America's successful men. In 
early boyhood he commenced to help his 
father as a manufacturer of hats. He at- 
tended school only for half of each day for 
a single year, and beyond this his acquisi- 
tions were all his own. When seventeen 
years old he was placed with John Wood- 
ward to learn the trade of coach-making and 
served his apprenticeship so satisfactorily 
that his master offered to set him up in busi- 
ness, but this he declined because of the 
debt and obligation it would involve. 

The foundation of Mr. Cooper's fortune 
was laid in the invention of an improvement 
in machines for shearing cloth. This was 
largely called into use during the war of 
18 1 2 with England when all importations 
of cloth from that country were stopped. 
The machines lost their value, however, on 
the declaration of peace. Mr. Cooper then 
turned his shop into the manufacture of 
cabinet ware. He afterwards went into the 
grocery business in New York and finally he 
engaged in the manufacture of glue and isin- 
glass which he carried on for more than 
fifty years. In 1830 he erected iron works 
in Canton, near Baltimore. Subsequently 
he erected a rolling and a wire mill in the 
city of New York, in which he first success- 
fully applied anthracite to the puddling of 
iron. In these works, he was the first to 
roll wrought-iron beams for fire-proof build- 
ings. These works grew to be very exten- 
sive, including mines, blast furnaces, etc. 
While in Baltimore Mr. Cooper built in 
1830, after his own designs, the first loco- 



motive engine ever constructed on this con- 
tinent and it was successfully operated on 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He also 
took a great interest and invested large cap- 
ital in the extension of the electric telegraph, 
also in the laying of the first Atlantic cable; 
besides interesting himself largely in the 
New York state canals. But the most 
cherished object of Mr. Cooper's life was 
the establishment of an institution for the 
instruction of the industrial classes, which 
he carried out on a magnificent scale in New 
York city, where the "Cooper Union" 
ranks among the most important institu- 
tions. 

In May, 1876, the Independent party 
nominated Mr. Cooper for president of the 
United States, and at the election following 
he received nearly 100,000 votes. His 
death occurred April 4, 1883. 



GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 
one of the most conspicuous Confeder- 
ate generals during the Civil war, and one 
of the ablest military commanders of mod- 
ern times, was born at Stratford House. 
Westmoreland county, Virginia, January 19, 
1807. In 1825 he entered the West Point 
academy and was graduated second in his 
class in 1829, and attached to the army as 
second lieutenant of engineers. For a 
number of years he was thus engaged in en- 
gineering work, aiding in establishing the 
boundary line between Ohio and Michigan, 
and superintended various river and harbor 
improvements, becoming captain of engi- 
neers in 1838. He first saw field service in 
the Mexican war, and under General Scott 
performed valuable and efficient service. 
In that brilliant campaign he was conspicu- 
ous for professional ability as well as gallant 
and meritorious conduct, winning in quick 
succession the brevets of major, lieutenant- 



COMPEXOn'M OF lUOGRAPirr. 



m 



colonel, and colonel for his part in the bat- 
tles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, 
Chapultepec, and in the capture of the city 
Mexico. At the close of that war he re- 
sumed his engineering work in connection 
with defences along the Atlantic coast, and 
from 1852 to 1855 was superintendent of 
the Military Academy, a position which he 
gave up to become lieutenant-colonel of the 
Second Cavalry. For several years there- 
after he served on the Texas border, but 
happening to be near Washington at the 
time of John Brown's raid, October 17 to 
25, 1859, Colonel Lee was placed in com- 
mand of the Federal forces employed in its 
repression. He soon returned to his regi- 
ment in Texas where he remained the 
greater part of i860, and March 16, 1861, 
became colonel of his regiment by regular 
promotion. Three weeks later, April 25, he 
resigned upon the secession of Virginia, 
went at once to Richmond and tendered his 
services to the governor of that state, being 
by acclamation appointed commander-in- 
chief of its military and naval forces, with 
the rank of major-general. 

He at once set to work to organize and 
develop the defensive resources of his state 
and within a month directed the occupation 
in force of Manassas Junction, ^^eanwhile 
Virginia having entered the confederacy and 
Richmond become the capitol, Lee became 
one of the foremost of its military officers 
and was closely connected with Jefferson 
Davis in planning the moves of that tragic 
time. Lee participated in many of the 
hardest fought battles of the war among 
which were Fair Oaks, White Lake Swamps, 
Cold Harbor, and the Chickahominy, Ma- 
nassas, Cedar Run, Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville, Malvern Hill, Get- 
tysburg, the battles of the Wilderness cam- 
paign, all the campaifjns about Richmond, 



Petersburg, Five Forks, and others. Lee's 
surrender at Appomatox brought the war to 
a close. It is said of General Lee that but 
few commanders in history have been so 
quick to detect the purposes of an opponent 
or so quick to act upon it. Never surpassed, 
if ever equaled, in the art of winning the 
passionate, personal love and admiration of 
his troops, he acquired and held an influ- 
ence over his army to the very last, founded 
upon a supreme trust in his judgment, pre- 
science and skill, coupled with his cool, 
stable, equable courage. A great writer has 
said of him: "As regards the proper meas- 
ure of General Lee's rank among the sol- 
diers of history, seeing what he wrought 
with such resources as he had, under all the 
disadvantages that ever attended his oper- 
ations, it is impossible to measure what he 
might have achieved in campaigns and bat- 
tles with resources at his own disposition 
equal to those against which he invariably 
contended." 

Left at the close of the war without es- 
tate or profession, he accepted the presi- 
dency of Washington College at Lexington, 
Virginia, where he died October 12, 1870. 



JOHN JAY, first chief-justice of the 
United States, was born in New York, 
December 12, 1745. He took up the study 
of law, graduated from King's College 
(Columbia College), and was admitted to 
the bar in 1768. He was chosen a membei 
of the committee of New York citizens to 
protest against the enforcement by the 
British government of the Boston Port Bill, 
was elected to the Continental congress 
which met in 1774, and was author of the 
addresses to the people of Great Britian and 
of Canada adopted by that and the suc- 
ceeding congress. He was chosen to the 
provincial assembly of his own state, and 



40 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



resigned from the Continental congress to 
serve in that body, wrote most of its public 
papers, including the constitution of the new 
state, and was then made chief-justice. He 
was again chosen as a member of the Con- 
tinental congress in 1778, and became presi- 
dent of that body. He was sent to Spain 
as minister in 1780, and his services there 
resulted in substantial and moral aid for the 
struggling colonists. Jay, Franklin, and 
Adams negotiated the treaty of peace with 
Great Britain in 1782, and Jay was ap- 
pointed secretary of foreign affairs in 1784, 
and held the position until the adoption of 
the Federal constitution. During this time 
he had "contributed strong articles to the 
"Federalist" in favor of the adoption of 
the constitution, and was largely instru- 
mental in securing the ratification of that 
instrument by his state. He was appointed 
by \\'ashington as first chief-justice of the 
United States in 1789. In this high capac- 
ity the great interstate and international 
questions that arose for immediate settle- 
ment came before him for treatment. 

In 1794, at a time when the people in 
gratitude for the aid that France had ex- 
tended to us, were clamoring for the privilege 
of going to the aid of that nation in her 
struggle with Great Britain and her own op- 
pressors, John Jay was sent to England as 
special envoy to negotiate a treaty with 
that power. The instrument known as 
"Jay's Treaty " was the result, and while 
in many of its features it favored our nation, 
yet the neutrality clause in it so angered the 
masses that it was denounced throughout 
the entire country, and John Jay was burned 
in effigy in the city of New York. The 
treaty was finally ratified by Washington, 
and approved, in August, 1795. Having 
been elected governor of his state for three 
consecutive terms, he then retired from 



active life, declining an appointment as 
chief-justice of the supreme court, made by 
John Adams and confirmed by the senate. 
He died in New York in 1829. 



PHILLIP HENRY SHERIDAN was 
one of the greatest American cavalry 
generals. He was born March 6, 1831, at 
Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, and was ap- 
pointed to the United States Military Acad- 
emy at West Point, from which he graduat- 
ed and was assigned to the First Infantry as 
brevet second lieutenant July i, 1853. 
After serving in Texas, on the Pacific coast, 
in Washington and Oregon territories until 
the fall of 1861, he was recalled to the 
states and assigned to the army of south- 
west Missouri as chief quartermaster from 
the duties of which he was soon relieved. 
After the battle of Pea Ridge, he was quar- 
termaster in the Corinth campaign, and on 
May 25 he was appointed colonel of the 
Second Michigan Cavalry. On July i, in 
command of a cavalry brigade, he defeated 
a superior force of the enemy and was com- 
missioned brigadier-general of volunteers. 
General Sheridan was then transferred to 
the army of the Ohio, and commanded a 
division in the battle of Perrysville and also 
did good service at the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, where he was commissioned major- 
general of volunteers. He fought with 
great gallantry at Chickamauga, after which 
Rosecrans was succeeded by General Grant, 
under whom Sheridan fought the battle of 
Chattanooga and won additional renown. 
Upon the promotion of Grant to lieutenant- 
general, he applied for the transfer of Gen- 
eral Sheridan to the east, and appointed 
him chief of cavalry in the army of rtie 
Potomac. During the campaign of 1864 
the cavalry covered the front and flanks of 
the infantry until May 8, when it was wiiv, 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHV 



41 



drawn and General Sheridan started on a 
raid against the Confederate Hnes of com- 
munication with Richmond and on May 25 
he rejoined the army, having destroyed con- 
siderable of the confederate stores and de- 
feated their cavalry under General Stuart at 
Yellow Tavern. The outer line of defences 
around Richmond were taken, but the sec- 
ond line was too strong to be taken by as- 
sault, and accordingly Sheridan crossed the 
Chickahominy at Meadow Bridge, reaching 
James River May 14, and ther.ce by White 
House and Hanover Court House back to 
the army. The cavalry occupied Cold 
Harbor May 31, which they held until the 
arrival of the infantry. On General Sheri- 
dan's next raid he routed Wade Hampton's 
cavalry, and August 7 was assigned to the 
command of the Middle Military division, 
and during the campaign of the Shenan- 
doah Valley he performed the unheard of 
feat of " destroying an entire army." He 
was appointed brigadier-general of the reg- 
ular army and for his victory at Cedar Creek 
he was promoted to the rank of major-gen- 
eral. General Sheridan started out Febru- 
ary 27, 1865, with ten thousand cavalry 
and destroyed the Virginia Central Railroad 
and the James River Canal and joined the 
army again at Petersburg March 27. He 
commanded at the battle of Five Forks, the 
decisive victory which compelled Lee to 
evacuate Petersburg. On April 9, Lee tried 
to break through Sheridan's dismounted 
command but when the General drew aside 
his cavalry and disclosed the deep lines of 
infantry the attempt was abandoned. Gen- 
eral Sheridan mounted his men and was about 
to charge when a white flag was flown at the 
head of Lee's column which betokened the 
surrender of the army. After the war Gen- 
eral Sheridan had command of the army of 
the southwest, of the gulf and the depart- 



ment of Missouri until he was appointed 
lieutenant-general and assigned to the di- 
vision of Missouri with headquarters at Chi- 
cago, and assumed supreme command of 
the army November i, 1883, which post he 
held until his death, August 5, 1888. 



PHINEAS T. BARXUM, the greatest 
showman the world has ever seen, was 
born at Danbury, Connecticut, July 5, 1810. 
At the age of eighteen years he began buii- 
ness on his own account. He opened a re- 
tail fruit and confectionery house, including 
a barrel of ale, in one part of an old car- 
riage house. He spent fifty dollars in fitting 
up the store and the stock cost him seventy 
dollars. Three years later he put in a full 
stock, such as is generally carried in a 
country store, and the same year he started 
a Democratic newspaper, known as the 
"Herald of Freedom." He soon found 
himself in jail under a sixty days' sentence 
for libel. During the winter of 1834-5 he 
went to New York and began soliciting busi- 
ness for several Chatham street houses. In 

1835 he embarked in the show business at 
Niblo's Garden, having purchased the cele- 
brated "Joice Heth" for one thousand dol- 
lars. He afterward engaged the celebrated 
athlete, Sig. Vivalia, and Barnum made his 
' ' first appearance on any stage, " acting as a 
"super" to Sig. Vivalia on his opening 
night. He became ticket seller, secretary 
and treasurer of Aaron Turner's circus in 

1836 and traveled with it about the country. 
His next venture was the purchase of a 
steamboat on the Mississippi, and engaged 
a theatrical company to show in the princi- 
pal towns along that river. In 1840 he 
opened Vaux Hall Garden, New York, with 
variety performances, and introduced the 
celebrated jig dancer, John Diamond, to the 
public. The next year he quit the show 



42 



COMPEXDJUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



business and settled down in New York as 
agent of Sear's Pictorial Illustration of the 
Bible, but a few months later again leased 
Vaux Hall. In September of the same year 
he again left the business, and became 
' ' puff " writer for the Bowery Amphitheater. 
In December he bought the Scudder Museum, 
and a year later introduced the celebrated 
Tom Thumb to the world, taking him to 
England in 1844, and remaining there three 
years. He then returned to New York, and 
in 1849, through James Hall Wilson, he en- 
gaged the "Swedish Nightingale," Jenny 
Lind, to come to this country and make a 
tour under his management. He also had 
sent the Swiss Bell Ringers to America in 
1844. He became owner of the Baltimore 
Museum and the Lyceum and Museum at 
Philadelphia. In 1850 he brought a dozen 
elephants from Ceylon to make a tour of this 
country, and in 1851 sent the " Bateman 
Children " to London. During 1851 and 
1852 he traveled as a temperance lecturer, 
and became president of a bank at Pequon- 
nock, Connecticut. In 1852 he started a 
weekly pictorial paper known as the " Illus- 
trated News." In 1865 his Museum was 
destroyed by fire, and he immediately leased 
the Winter Garden Theatre, where he played 
his company until he opened his own 
Museum. This was destroyed by fire in 
1868, and he then purchased an interest in 
the George Wood Museum. 

After dipping into politics to some ex- 
tent, he began his career as a really great 
showman in 1871. Three years later he 
erected an immense circular building in New 
York, in which he produced his panoramas. 
He has frequently appeared as a lecturer, 
some times on temperance, and some times 
on other topics, among which were "Hum- 
bugs of the World," "Struggles and 
Triumphs," etc. He was owner of the im- | 



mense menagerie and circus known as the 
"Greatest Show on Earth," and his fame 
extended throughout Europe and America. 
He died in i8qi. 



JAMES MADISON, the fourth president 
of the United States, 1809-17, was 
born at Port Conway, Prince George coun- 
ty, Virginia, March 16, 17 51. He was the 
son of a wealthy planter, who lived on a fine 
estate called " Montpelier," which was but 
twenty-five miles from Monticello, the home 
of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Madison was the 
eldest of a family of seven children, all of 
whom attained maturity. He received his 
early education at home under a private 
tutor, and consecrated himself with unusual 
vigor to study. At a very early age he was 
a proficient scholar in Latin, Greek, French 
and Spanish, and in 1769 he entered Prince- 
ton College, New Jersey. He graduated in 
1 77 1, but remained for several months after 
his graduation to pursue a course of study 
under the guidance of Dr. Witherspoon. 
He permanently injured his health at this 
time and returned to Virginia in 1772, and 
for two years he was immersed in the study 
of law, and at the same time made extend- 
ed researches in theology, general literature, 
and philosophical studies. He then directed 
his full attention to the impending struggle 
of the colonies for independence, and also 
took a prominent part in the religious con- 
troversy at that time regarding so called 
persecution of other religious denominations 
by the Church of England. Mr. Madison 
was elected to the Virginia assembly in 1776 
and in November, 1777, he was chosen 
a member of the council of state. He took 
his seat in the continental congress in 
March, 1780. He was made chairman of 
the committee on foreign relations, and 
drafted an able memoranda for the use of 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



the American ministers to the French and 
Spanish governments, that established the 
claims of the republic to the territories be- 
tween the Alleghany Mountains and the 
Mississippi River. He acted as chairman of 
the ways and means committee in 1783 and 
as a member of the Virginia legislature in 
1784-86 he rendered important services to 
the state. Mr. Madison represented Vir- 
giana in the national constitutional conven- 
tion at Philadelphia in 17S7, and was one of 
the chief framers of the constitution. He 
was a member of the first four congresses, 
1789-97, and gradually became identified 
with the anti-federalist or republican party 
of which he eventually became the leader. 
He remained in private life during the ad- 
ministration of John Adams, and was secre- 
tary of state under President Jefferson. Mr. 
Madison administered the affairs of that 
post with such great ability that he was the 
natural successor of the chief magistrate 
and was chosen president by an electoral 
vote of 122 to 53. He was inaugurated 
March 4, 1809, at that critical period in our 
history when the feelings of the people were 
embittered with those of England, and his 
first term was passed in diplomatic quarrels, 
which finally resulted in the declaration of 
war, June 18, 1812. In the autumn of that 
year President Madison was re-elected by a 
vote of 128 to 89, and conducted the war 
for three years with varying success and 
defeat in Canada, by glorious victories at 
sea, and by the battle of New Orleans that 
was fought after the treaty of peace had 
been signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814. 
During this war the national capitol at 
Washington was burned, and many valuable 
papers were destroyed, but the declaration 
of independence was saved to the country 
by the bravery and courage of Mr. Madi- 
son's illustrious wife. A commercial treaty 



was negotiated with Great Britain in 181 5, 
and in April, 18 16, a national bank was in- 
corporated by congress. Mr. Madison was 
succeeded, March 4, 1 817, by James Monroe, 
and retired into private life on his estate at 
Montpelier, where he died June 28, 1836. 



FREDERICK DOUGLASS, a noted 
American character, was a protege of 
the great abolitionist, William Lloyd Garri- 
son, by whom he was aided in gaining his 
education. Mr. Douglass was born in Tuck- 
ahoe county, Maryland, in February, 1817, 
his mother being a negro woman and his 
father a white man. He was born in slav- 
ery and belonged to a man by the name of 
Lloyd, under which name he went until he 
ran away from his master and changed it to 
Douglass. At the age of ten years he was 
sent to Baltimore where he learned to read 
and write, and later his owner allowed him 
to hire out his own time for three dollars a 
week in a shipyard. In September, 1838, 
he fled from Baltimore and made his way to 
New York, and from thence went to New 
Bedford, Massachusetts. Here he was mar- 
ried and supported himself and family by 
working at the wharves and in various work- 
shops. In the summer of 1841 he attended 
an anti-slavery convention at Nantucket, 
and made a speech which was so well re- 
ceived that he was offered the agency of the 
Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society. In this 
capacity he traveled through the New En- 
gland states, and about the same time he 
published his first book called " Narrative 
of my E.xperience in Slavery." Mr. Doug- 
lass went to England in 1845 and lectured 
on slavery to large and enthusiastic audi- 
ences in all the large towns of the country, 
and his friends made up a purse of seven 
hundred and fifty dollars and purchased his 
freedom in due form of law. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Mr. Douglass applied himself to the de- 
livery of lyceum lectures after the abolition 
of slavery, and in 1870 he became the editor 
of the " New National Era " in Washington. 
In 1 87 1 he was appointed assistant secretary 
of the commission to San Domingo and on 
his return he was appointed one of the ter- 
ritorial council for the District of Colorado 
by President Grant. He was elected presi- 
dential elector-at-large for the state of New 
York and was appointed to carry the elect- 
oral vote to Washington. He was also 
United States marshal for the District of 
Columbia in 1876, and later was recorder 
of deeds for the same, from which position 
he was removed by President Cleveland in 
1886. In the fall of that year he visited 
England to inform the friends that he had 
made while there, of the progress of the 
colored race in America, and on his return 
he was appointed minister to Hayti, by 
President Harrison in 1889. His career as 
a benefactor of his race was closed by his 
death in February, 1895, near Washington. 



WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.— The 
ear for rhythm and the talent for 
graceful expression are the gifts of nature, 
and they were plentifully endowed on the 
above named poet. The principal charac- 
teristic of his poetry is the thoughtfulness 
and intellectual process by which his ideas 
ripened in his mind, as all his poems are 
bright, clear and sweet. Mr. Bryant was 
born November 3, 1794, at Cummington, 
Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and was 
educated at Williams College, from which 
he graduated, having entered it in 18 10. 
He took up the study of law, and in 181 5 
was admitted to the bar, but after practicing 
successfully for ten years at Plainfield and 
Great Barrington, he removed to New York 
in 1825. The following year he became 



the editor of the "Evening Post," which 
he edited until his death, and under his di- 
rection this paper maintained, through a 
long series of years, a high standing by the 
boldness of its protests against slavery be- 
fore the war, by its vigorous support of the 
government during the war, and by the 
fidelity and ability of its advocacy of the 
Democratic freedom in trade. Mr. Bry- 
ant visited Europe in 1834, 1845, 1849 and 
1857, and presented to the literary world 
the fruit of his travels in the series of "Let- 
ters of a Traveler," and "Letters from 
Spain and Other Countries." In the world 
of literature he is known chiefly as a poet, 
and here Mr. Bryant's name is illustrious, 
both at home and abroad. He contributed 
verses to the "Country Gazette " before he 
was ten years of age, and at the age of nine- 
teen he wrote " Thanatopsis, " the most im- 
pressive and widely known of his poems. 
The later outgrowth of his genius was his 
translation of Homer's "Iliad" in 1870 
and the "Odyssey" in 1871. He also 
made several speeches and addresses which 
have been collected in a comprehensive vol- 
ume called " Orations and Addresses." He 
was honored in many ways by his fellow 
citizens, who delighted to pay tributes of 
respect to his literary eminence, the breadth 
of his public spirit, the faithfulness of his 
service, and the worth of his private char- 
acter. Mr. Bryant died in New York City 
June 12, 1878. 



WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, the 
secretary of state during one of the 
most critical times in the histoiy of our 
country, and the right hand man of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, ranks among the greatest 
statesmen America has produced. Mr. 
Seward was born May 16, 1 801, at Florida, 
Orange county, New York, and with such 



COMPEXD/L.U OF BIOGRAPHY 



facilities as the place afforded he fitted him- 
self for a college course. He attended 
Union College at Schenectady, New York, 
at the age of fifteen, and took his degree in 
the regular course, with signs of promise in 
1820, after which he diligently addressed 
himself to the study of law under competent 
instructors, and started in the practice of 
his profession in 1823. 

Mr. Seward entered the political arena 
and in 1828 we find him presiding over a 
convention in New York, its purpose being 
the nomination of John Quincy Adams for a 
second term. He was married in 1824 and 
in 1830 was elected to the state senate. 
From 1838 to 1842 he was governor of the 
state of New York. Mr. Seward's ne.xt im- 
portant position was that of United States 
senator from New York. 

W. H. Seward was chosen by President 
Lincoln to fill the important office of the 
secretary of state, and by his firmness and 
diplomacy in the face of difficulties, he aided 
in piloting the Union through that period of 
strife, and won an everlasting fame. This 
great statesman died at Auburn, New York, 
October 10, 1872, in the seventy-second 
year of his eventful life. 



TOSEPH JEFFERSON, a name as dear 
»J as it is familiar to the theater-going 
world in America, suggests first of all a fun- 
loving, drink-loving, mellow voiced, good- 
natured Dutchman, and the name of "Rip 
Van Winkle " suggests the pleasant features 
of Joe Jefferson, so intimately are play and 
player associated in the minds of those who 
have had the good fortune to shed tears of 
laughter and sympathy as a tribute to the 
greatness of his art. Joseph Jefferson was 
born in Philadelphia, February 20, 1829. 
His genius was an inheritance, if there be 
such, as his great-grandfather, Thomas 



Jefferson, was a manager and actor in Eng- 
land. His grandfather, Joseph Jefferson, 
was the most popular comedian of the New 
York stage in his time, and his father, Jos- 
eph Jefferson, the second, was a good actor 
also, but the third Joseph Jefferson out- 
shone them all. 

At the age of three years Joseph Jeffer- 
son came on the stage as the child in "Pi- 
zarro," and his training was upon the stage 
from childhood. Later on he lived and 
acted in Chicago, Mobile, and Texas. After 
repeated misfortunes he returned to New 
Orleans from Texas, and his brother-in-law, 
Charles Burke, gave him money to reach 
Philadelphia, where he joined the Burton 
theater company. Here his genius soon as- 
serted itself, and his future became promis- 
ing and brilliant. His engagements through- 
out the United States and Australia were 
generally successful, and when he went to 
England in 1865 Mr. Boucicault consented 
to make some important changes in his 
dramatization of Irving's story of Rip Van 
Winkle, and Mr. Jefferson at once placed 
it in the front rank as a comedy. He made 
a fortune out of it, and played nothing else 
for many years. In later years, however, 
Mr. Jefferson acquitted himself of the charge 
of being a one-part actor, and the parts of 
"Bob Acres," "Caleb Plummer" and 
"Golightly " all testify to the versatility of 
his genius. 

GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN, 
a noted American general, was born 
in Philadelphia, December 3, 1826. He 
graduated from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1S46 from West Point, and 
was breveted second lieutenant of engineers. 
He was with Scott in the Mexican war, 
taking part in all the engagements from 
Vera Cruz to the final capture of the Mexi- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



can capital, and was breveted first lieuten- 
ant and captain for gallantry displayed on 
various occasions. In 1857 he resigned his 
commission and accepted the position of 
chief engineer in the construction of the 
Illinois Central Railroad, and became presi- 
dent of the St. Louis & Cincinnati Railroad 
Company. He was commissioned major- 
general by the state of Ohio in 1861, 
placed in command of the department of 
the Ohio, and organized the first volunteers 
called for from that state. In May he was 
appointed major-general in the United 
States army, and ordered to disperse the 
confederates overrunning West Virginia. 
He accomplished this task promptly, and 
received the thanks of congress. After the 
first disaster at Bull Run he was placed 
in command of the department of Wash- 
ington, and a few weeks later of the 
Army of the Potomac. Upon retirement 
of General Scott the command of the en- 
tire United States army devolved upon Mc- 
Clellan, but he was relieved of it within a 
few months. In March, 1862, after elabor- 
ate preparation, he moved upon Manassas, 
only to find it deserted by the Confederate 
army, which had been withdrawn to im- 
pregnable defenses prepared nearer Rich- 
mond. He then embarked his armies for 
Fortress Monroe and after a long delay at 
Yorktown, began the disastrous Peninsular 
campaign, which resulted in the Army of the 
Potomac being cooped up on the James 
River below Richmond. His forces were 
then called to the support of General Pope, 
near Washington, and he was left without an 
army. After Pope's defeat McClellan was 
placed in command of the troops for the de- 
fense of the capital, and after a thorough or- 
ganization he followed Lee into Maryland 
and the battles of Antietam and South Moun- 
tain ensued. The delay which followed 



caused general dissatisfaction, and he was re- 
lieved of his command, and retired from active 
service. 

In 1864 McClellan was nominated for 
the presidency by the Democrats, and over- 
whelmingly defeated by Lincoln, three 
states only casting their electoral votes for 
McClellan. On election day he resigned 
his commission and a few months later went 
to Europe where he spent several years. 
He wrote a number of military text- books 
and reports. His death occurred October 
29, 1885. 

SAMUEL J. TILDEN.— Among the great 
statesmen whose names adorn the pages 
of American history may be found that of 
the subject of this sketch. Known as a 
lawyer of highest ability, his greatest claim 
to immortality will ever lie in his successful 
battle against the corrupt rings of his native 
state and the elevation of the standard of 
official life. 

Samuel J. Tilden was born in New Leb- 
anon, New York, February 9, 18 14. He 
pursued his academic studies at Yale Col- 
lege and the University of New York, tak- 
ing the course of law at the latter. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1841. His rare 
ability as a thinker and writer upon public 
topics attracted the attention of President 
Van Buren, of whose policy and adminis- 
tration he became an active and efficient 
champion. He made for himself a high 
place in his profession and amassed quite a 
fortune as the result of his industry and 
judgment. During the days of his greatest 
professional labor he was ever one of the 
leaders and trusted counsellors of the Demo- 
cratic party. He was a member of the 
conventions to revise the state constitution, 
both in 1846 and 1867, and served two 
terms in the lower branch of the state leg- 



COMI'EXDIL M OJ- n/Oa HA /'//)'. 



49 



islature. He was one of the controlling 
spirits in the overthrow of the notorious 
"Tweed rin;; " and the reformation of the 
government of the city of New York. In 
1874 he was elected governor of the state 
of New York. While in this position he 
assailed corruption in high places, success- 
fully battling with the iniquitous "canal 
ring " and crushed its sway over all depart- 
ments of the government. Recognizing his 
character and e.xecutive ability Mr. Tilden 
was nominated for president by the na- 
tional Democratic convention in 1876. At 
the election he received a much larger popu- 
lar vote than his opponent, and 184 uncon- 
tested electoral votes. There being some 
electoral votes contested, a commission ap- 
pointed by congress decided in favor of the 
Republican electors and Mr. Hayes, the can- 
didate of that party was declared elected. 
In 1880, the Democratic party, feeling that 
Mr. Tilden had been lawfully elected to the 
presidency tendered the nomination for the 
same office to Mr. Tilden, but he declined, 
retiring from all public functions, owing to 
failing health. He died August 4, 1886. 
By will he bequeathed several millions of 
dollars toward the founding of public libra- 
ries in New York City, Yonkers, etc. 



NOAH WEBSTER.— As a scholar, law- 
yer, author and journalist, there is no 
one who stands on a higher plane, or whose 
reputation is better established than the 
honored gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. He was a native of West Hartford, 
Connecticut, and was born October 17, 
1758. He came of an old New England 
family, his mother being a descendant of 
Governor William Bradford, of the Ply- 
mouth colony. After acquiring a solid edu- 
cation in early life Dr. Webster entered 
Yale College, from which he graduated in 



1778. For a while he taught school in 
Hartford, at the same time studying law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1781. He 
taught a classical school at Goshen, Orange 
county. New York, in 1782-83, and while 
there prepared his spelling book, grammar 
and reader, which was issued under the title 
of "A Grammatical Institute of the English 
Language," in three parts, — so successful a 
work that up to 1876 something like forty 
million of the spelling books had been 
sold. In 1786 he delivered a course of lec- 
tures on the English language in the seaboard 
cities and the following year taught an 
academy at Philadelphia. From December 
17, 1787, until November, 1788, he edited 
the "American Magazine, "a periodical that 
proved unsuccessful. In 1789-93 he prac- 
ticed law in Hartford having in the former 
year married the daughter of William Green- 
leaf, of Boston. He returned to New York 
and November, 1793, founded a daily paper, 
the "Minerva," to which was soon added a 
semi-weekly edition under the name of the 
" Herald." The former is still in e.xistence 
under the name of the "Commercial Adver- 
tiser." In this paper, over the signature of 
"Curtius," he published a lengthy and schol- 
arly defense of "John Jay's treaty." 

In 1798, Dr. Webster moved to New 
Haven and in 1807 commenced the prepar- 
ation of his great work, the ' ' American Dic- 
tionary of the English Language," which 
was not completed and published until 1828. 
He made his home in Amherst, Massachu- 
setts, for the ten years succeeding 1812, and 
was instrumental in the establishment of 
Amherst College, of which institution he was 
the first president of the board of trustees. 
During 1824-5 he resided in Europe, pursu- 
ing his philological studies in Paris. He 
completed his dictionary from the libraries 
of Cambridge University in 1825, and de- 



50 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



voted his leisure for the remainder of his 
life to the revision of that and his school 
books. 

Dr. Webster was a member of the legis- 
latures of both Connecticut and Massachu- 
setts, was judge of one of the courts of the 
former state and was identified with nearly 
all the literary and scientific societies in the 
neighborhood of Amherst College. He died 
in New Haven, May 28, 1843. 

Among the more prominent works ema- 
nating from the fecund pen of Dr. Noah 
Webster besides those mentioned above are 
the following: "Sketches of American 
Policy," " Winthrop's Journal," " A Brief 
History of Epidemics," " Rights of Neutral 
Nations in time of War," "A Philosophical 
and Practical Grammar of the English Lan- 
guage," "Dissertations on the English 
Language," "A Collection of Essays," 
"The Revolution in France," "Political 
Progress of Britain," "Origin, History, and 
Connection of the Languages of Western 
Asia and of Europe ," and many others. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, the 
great anti-slavery pioneer and leader, 
was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, 
December 12, 1804. He was apprenticed 
to the printing business, and in 1828 was in- 
duced to take charge of the "Journal of the 
Times" at Bennington, Vermont. While 
supporting John Quincy Adams for the presi- 
dency he took occasion in that paper to give 
expression of his views on slavery. These 
articles attracted notice, and a Quaker 
named Lundy, editor of the "Genius of 
Emancipation," published in Baltimore, in- 
duced him to enter a partnership with him 
for the conduct of his paper. It soon 
transpired that the views of the partners 
were not in harmony, Lundy favoring grad- 
ual emancipation, while Garrison favored 



immediate freedom. In 1850 Mr. Garrison 
was thrown into prison for libel, not being 
able to pay a fine of fifty dollars and costs. 
In his cell he wrote a number of poems 
which stirred the entire north, and a mer- 
chant, Mr. Tappan, of New York, paid his 
fine and liberated him, after seven weeks of 
confinement. He at once began a lecture 
tour of the northern cities, denouncing 
slavery as a sin before God, and demanding 
its immediate abolition in the name of re- 
ligion and humanity. He opposed the col- 
onization scheme of President Monroe and 
other leaders, and declared the right of 
every slave to immediate freedom. 

In 1 83 1 he formed a partnership with 
Isaac Knapp, and began the publication of 
the "Liberator" at Boston. The "imme- 
diate abolition " idea began to gather power 
in the north, while the south became 
alarmed at the bold utterance of this jour- 
nal. The mayor of Boston was besought 
by southern influence to interfere, and upon 
investigation, reported upon the insignifi- 
cance, obscurity, and poverty of the editor 
and his staff, which report was widely 
published throughout the country. Re- 
wards were offered by the southern states 
for his arrest and conviction. Later Garri- 
son brought from England, where an eman- 
cipation measure had just been passed, 
some of the great advocates to work for the 
cause in this country. In 1835 a mob 
broke into his office, broke up a meeting of 
women, dragged Garrison through the street 
with a rope around his body, and his life 
was saved only by the interference of the 
police, who lodged him in jail. Garrison 
declined to sit in the World's Anti-Slavery 
convention at London in 1S40, because 
that body had refused women representa- 
tion. He opposed the formation of a po- 
litical party with emancipation as its basis. 



COMPEXDn-M np BIOGRAPHr. 



51 



He favored a dissolution of the union, and 
declared the constitution which bound the 
free states to the slave states " A covenant 
with death and an agreement with hell." 
In 1843 he became president of the Amer- 
ican Anti-Slavery society, which position he 
held until 1S65, when slavery was no more. 
During all this time the " Liberator " had 
continued to promulgate anti-slavery doc- 
trines, but in 1865 Garrison resigned his 
position, and declared his work was com- 
pleted. He died May 24, 1879. 



JOHN BROWN ("Brown of Ossawato- 
mie"), a noted character in American 
history, wasbornatTorrington, Connecticut, 
May 9, 1800. In his childhood he removed 
to Ohio, where he learned the tanner's 
trade. He married there, and in 1855 set- 
tled in Kansas. He lived at the village of 
Ossawatomie in that state, and there began 
his fight against slavery. He advocated im- 
mediate emancipation, and held that the 
negroes of the slave states merely waited 
for a leader in an insurrection that would re- 
sult in their freedom. He attended the 
convention called at Chatham, Canada, in 
1 8 59, and was the leading spirit in organiz- 
ing a raid upon the United States arsenal at 
Harper's Ferry, Virginia. His plans were 
well laid, and carried out in great secrecy. 
He rented a farm house near Harper's'Terry 
in the summer of 1859, and on October 
i6th of that year, with about twenty follow- 
ers, he surprised and captured the United 
States arsenal, with all its supplies and 
arms. To his surprise, the negroes did not 
come to his support, and the next day he 
was attacked by the Virginia state militia, 
wounded and captured. He was tried in 
the courts of the state, convicted, and was 
hanged at Charlestown, Decembers, 1859. 
The raid and its results had a tremendous 



effect, and hastened the culmination of the 
troubles between the north and south. The 
south had the advantage in discussing this 
event, claiming that the sentiment which 
inspired this act of violence was shared by 
the anti-slavery element of the country. 

EDWIN BOOTH had no peer upon the 
American stage during his long career 
as a star actor. He was the son of a famous 
actor, Junius Brutus Booth, and was born 
in 1833 at his father's home at Belair, near 
Baltimore. At the age of si.xteen he made hi.«i 
first appearance on the stage, at the Boston 
Museum, in a minor part in "Richard III.'' 
It was while playing in California in 1851 
that an eminent critic called general atten- 
tion to the young actor's unusual talent. 
However, it was not until 1863, at the great 
Shakspearian revival at the Winter Garden 
Theatre, New York, that the brilliancy ol 
his career began. His Hamlet held the 
boards for 100 nights in succession, and 
from that time forth Booth's reputation was 
established. In 1S68 he opened his own 
theatre (Booth's Theater) in New York. 
Mr. Booth never succeeded as a manager, 
however, but as an actor he was undoubted- 
ly the most popular man on the American 
stage, and perhaps the most eminent one in 
the world. In England he also won the 
greatest applause. 

Mr. Booth's work was confined mostly 
to Shakspearean roles, and his art was 
characterized by intellectual acuteness, 
fervor, and poetic feeling. His Hamlet, 
Richard II, Richard III, and Richelieu gave 
play to his greatest powers. In 1865, 
when his brother, John Wilkes Booth, 
enacted his great crime, Edwin Booth re- 
solved to retire from the stage, but waspur- 
suaded to reconsider that decision. The 
odium did not in any way attach to the 



52 



COMPENDIiTM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



great actor, and his popularity was not 
affected. In all his work Mr. Booth clung 
closely to the legitimate and the traditional 
in drama, making no experiments, and offer- 
ing little encouragement to new dramatic 
authors. His death occurred in New York, 
June 7, 1894. 



JOSEPH HOOKER, a noted American 
officer, was born at Hadley, Massachu- 
setts, November 13, 1814. He graduated 
from West Point Military Academy in 1837, 
and was appointed lieutenant of artillery. 
He served in Florida in the Seminole war, 
and in garrison until the outbreak of the 
Mexican war. During the latter he saw 
service as a staff officer and was breveted 
captain, major and lieutenant-colonel for 
gallantry at Monterey, National Bridge and 
Chapultepec. Resigning his commission in 
1833 he took up farming in California, which 
he followed until 1861. During this time 
he acted as superintendent of military roads 
in Oregon. At the outbreak of the Rebel- 
lion Hooker tendered his services to the 
government, and, May 17, i86r, was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers. He 
served in the defence of Washington and on 
the lower Potomac until his appointment to 
the command of a division in the Third 
Corps, in March, 1862. For gallant con- 
duct at the siege of Yorktown and in the 
battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Fra- 
zier's Farm and Malvern Hill he was made 
major-general. At the head of his division 
he participated in the battles of Manassas 
and Chantilly. September 6, 1862, he was 
placed at the head of the First Corps, and 
in the battles of South Mountain and An- 
tietam acted with his usual gallantry, being 
wounded in the latter engagement. On re- 
joining the army in November he was made 
brigadier-general in the regular army. On 



General Burnside attaining the command of 
the Army of the Potomac General Hooker 
was placed in command of the center grand 
division, consisting of the Second and Fifth 
Corps. At the head of these gallant men 
he participated in the battle of Fred- 
ericksburg, December 13, 1862. In Janu- 
ary, 1863, General Hooker assumed com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac, and in 
May following fought the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville. At the time of the invasion of 
Pennsylvania, owing to a dispute with Gen- 
eral Halleck, Hooker requested to be re- 
lieved of his command, and June 28 was 
succeeded by George G. Meade. In Sep- 
tember, 1863, General Hooker was given 
command of the Twentieth Corps and trans- 
ferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and 
distinguished himself at the battles of Look- 
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Ring- 
gold. In the Atlanta campaign he saw 
almost daily service and merited his well- 
known nickname of "Fighting Joe." July 
30, 1864, at his own request, he was re- 
lieved of his command. He subsequently 
was in command of several military depart- 
ments in the north, and in October, 1868, 
was retired with the full rank of major-gen- 
eral. He died October 31, 1879. 



JAY GOULD, one of the greatest finan- 
ciers that the world has ever produced, 
was born May 27, 1836, at Roxbury, Dela- 
ware county. New York. He spent his early 
years on his father's farm and at the age of 
fourteen entered Hobart Academy, New 
York, and kept books for the village black- 
smith. He acquired a taste for mathematics 
and surveying and on leaving school found 
employment in making the surveyor's map 
of Ulster county. He surveyed very exten- 
sively in the state and accumulated five thou- 
sand dollars as the fruits of his labor. He 



coyrrExniiM oj- luoGRArnr. 



53 



was then stricken with typhoid fever but re- 
covered and made the acquaintance of one 
Zadock Pratt, who sent him into the west- 
ern part of the state to locate a site for a 
tannery. He chose a fine hemlock grove, 
built a sawmill and blacksmith shop and 
was soon doing a large lumber business with 
Mr. Pratt. Mr. Gould soon secured control 
of the entire plant, which he sold out just 
before the panic of 1857 and in this j'ear he 
became the largest stockholderintheStrouds- 
burg, Pennsylvania, bank. Shortly after the 
crisis he bought the bonds of the Rutland 
& Washington Railroad at ten cents on the 
dollar, and put all his money into railroad 
securities. For a long time he conducted 
this road which he consolidated with the 
Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad. In 1859 
he removed to New York and became a 
heavy investor in Erie Railroad stocks, en- 
tered that company and was president until 
its reorganization in 1872. In December, 
1880, Mr. Gould was in control of ten thou- 
sand miles of railroad. In 18S7 he pur- 
chased the controlling interest in the St. 
Louis & San Francisco Railroad Co., and 
was a joint owner with the Atchison, Topeka 
& Santa Fe Railroad Co. of the western 
portion of the Southern Pacific line. Other 
lines soon came under his control, aggregat- 
ing thousand of miles, and he soon was rec- 
ognized as one of the world's greatest rail- 
road magnates. He continued to hold his 
place as one of the master financiers of the 
century until the time of his death which 
occurred December 2, 1892. 



TIIOM.\S HART BENTON, a very 
prominent United States senator and | 
statesman, was born at Hillsborough, North 
Carolina, March 14, 1782. He removed to 
Tennessee in early life, studied law, and be- 
gan to practice at Nashville about 18 10. 



During the war of 1812-1S15 he served as 
colonel of a Tennessee regiment underGen- 
eral Andrew Jackson. In 18 15 he removed 
to St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1820 was 
chosen United States senator for that state. 
Having been re-elected in 1826, he sup- 
ported President Jackson in his opposition 
to the United States bank and advocated a 
gold and silver currency, thus gaining the 
name of " Old Bullion," by which he was 
familiarly known. For many years he was 
the most prominent man in Missouri, and 
took rank among the greatest statesmen of 
his day. He was a member of the senate 
for thirty years and opposed the extreme 
states' rights policy of John C. Calhoun. 
In 1852 he was elected to the house of rep- 
resentatives in which he opposed the repeal 
of the Missouri compromise. He was op- 
posed by a powerful party of States' Rights 
Democrats in Missouri, who defeated him as a 
candidate for governor of that state in 1856. 
Colonel Benton published a considerable 
work in two volumes in 1854-56, entitled 
"Thirty Years' View, or a History of the 
Working of the American Government for 
Thirty Years, 1820-50." He died April 10, 
1858. 

STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS.— One 
of the most prominent figures in politic- 
al circles during the intensely e.xciting days 
that preceded the war, and a leader of the 
Union branch of the Democratic part}' was 
the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. 

He was born at Brandon, Rutland coun- 
ty, Vermont, April 23, 181 3, of poor but 
respectable parentage. His father, a prac- 
ticing physician, died while our subject was 
but an infant, and his mother, with two 
small children and but small means, could 
give him but the rudiments of an education. 



54 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY 



At the age of fifteen young Douglas engaged 
at work in the cabinet making business to 
raise funds to carry him through college. 
After a few years of labor he was enabled to 
pursue an academical course, first at Bran- 
don, and later at Canandaigua, New York. 
In the latter place he remained until 1833, 
taking up the study of law. Before he was 
twenty, however, his funds running low, he 
abandoned all further attempts at educa- 
tion, determining to enter at once the battle 
of life. After some wanderings through the 
western states he took up his residence at 
Jacksonville, Illinois, where, after teaching 
school for three months, he was admitted to 
the bar, and opened an office in 1834. 
Within a year from that time, so rapidly had 
he risen in his profession, he was chosen 
attorney general of the state, and warmly 
espoused the principles of the Democratic 
party. He soon became one of the most 
popular orators in Illinois. It was at this 
time he gained the name of the "Little 
Giant." In 1835 he resigned the position 
of attorney general having been elected to 
the legislature. In 1841 he was chosen 
judge of the supreme court of Illinois which 
he resigned two years later to take a seat in 
congress. It was during this period of his 
life, while a member of the lower house, 
that he established his reputation and took 
the side of those who contended that con- 
gress had no constitutional right to restrict 
the extension of slavery further than the 
agreement between the states made in 1820. 
This, in spite of his being opposed to slav- 
ery, and only on grounds which he believed 
to be right, favored what was called the 
Missouri compromise. In 1847 Mr. Doug- 
las was chosen United States senator for 
six years, and greatly distinguished himself. 
In 1852 he was re-elected to the same office. 
During this latter term, under his leader- 



ship, the " Kansas-Nebraska bill " was car- 
ried in the senate. In 1858, nothwith- 
standing the fierce contest made by his able 
competitor for the position, Abraham Lin- 
coln, and with the administration of Bu- 
chanan arrayed against him, Mr. Douglas 
was re-elected senator. After the trouble 
in the Charleston convention, when by the 
withdrawal of several state delegates with- 
out a nomination, the Union Democrats, 
in convention at Baltimore, in i860, nomi- 
nated Mr. Douglas as their candidate for 
presidency. The results of this election are 
well known and the great events of 1861 
coming on, Mr. Douglas was spared their 
full development, dying at Chicago, Illinois, 
June 3, 1 861, after a short illness. His 
last words to his children were, " to obey 
the laws and support the constitution of the 
United States." 



JAMES MONROE, fifth president of the 
United States, was born in Westmore- 
land county, Virginia, April 28, 1758. At 
the age of sixteen he entered William and 
Mary College, but two years later the 
Declaration of Independence having been 
adopted, he left college and hastened to New 
York where he joined Washington's army as 
a military cadet. 

At the battle of Trenton Monroe per- 
formed gallant service and received a wound 
in the shoulder, and was promoted to a 
captaincy. He acted as aide to Lord Ster- 
ling at the battles of Brandywine, German- 
town and Monmouth. Washington then 
sent him to Virginia to raise a new regiment 
of which he was to be colonel. The ex- 
hausted condition of Virginia made this im- 
possible, but he received his commission. 
He next entered the law office of Thomas 
Jefferson to study law, as there was no open- 
ing for him as an officer in the army. In 



COMPENDTCM OF BIOGRArnT. 



55 



1782 he was elected to the Virginia assem- 
bly, and the next year he was elected to the 
Continental congress. Realizing the inade- 
quacy of the old articles of confederation, 
he advocated the calling of a convention to 
consider their revision, and introduced in 
congress a resolution empowering congress 
to regulate trade, lay import duties, etc. 
This resolution was referred to a committee, 
of which he was chairman, and the report 
led to the Annapolis convention, which 
called a general convention to meet at Phila- 
delphia in 1787, when the constitution was 
drafted. Mr. Monroe began the practice of 
law at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was 
soon after elected to the legislature, and ap- 
pointed as one of the committee to pass 
upon the adoption of the constitution. He 
opposed it, as giving too much power to the 
central government. He was elected to the 
United States senate in 1789, where he 
allied himself with the Anti-Federalists or 
"Republicans," as they were sometimes 
called. Although his views as to neutrality 
between France and England were directly 
opposed to those of the president, yet Wash- 
ington appointed him minister to France. 
His popularity in France was so great that 
the antagonism of England and her friends 
in this country brought about his recall. He 
then became governor of Virginia. He was 
sent as envoy to France in 1802; minister 
to England in 1803; and envoy to Spain in 
1805. The next year he returned to his 
estate in Virginia, and with an ample in- 
heritance enjoyed a few years of repose. He 
was again called to be governor of Virginia, 
and was then appointed secretary of state 
by President Madison. The war with Eng- 
land soon resulted, and when the capital 
was burned by the British, Mr. Monroe be- 
came secretary of war also, and planned the 
measures for the defense of New Orleans. 



The treasury being exhausted and credit 
gone, he pledged his own estate, and thereby 
made possible the victory of Jackson at New 
Orleans. 

In 1 817 Mr. Monroe became president 
of the United States, having been a candi- 
date of the "Republican" party, which at 
that time had begun to be called the ' ' Demo- 
cratic" party. In 1820 he was re-elected, 
having two hundred and thirty-one electoral 
votes out of two hundred and thirty-two. 
His administration is known as the "Era of 
good-feeling, " and party lines were almost 
wiped out. The slavery question began to 
assume importance at this time, and the 
Missouri Compromise was passed. The 
famous "Monroe Doctrine" originated in a 
great state paper of President Monroe upon 
the rumored interference of the Holy Alli- 
ance to prevent the formation of free repub- 
lics in South America. President Monroe 
acknowledged their independence, and pro- 
mulgated his great "Doctrine," which has 
been held in reverence since. Mr. Monroe's 
death occurred in New York on July 4, 1831. 



THOMAS ALVA EDISON, the master 
wizard of electrical science and whose 
name is synonymous with the subjugation 
of electricity to the service of man, was 
born in 1847 at Milan, Ohio, and it was at 
Port Huron, Michigan, whither his parents 
had moved in 1854, that his self-education 
began — for he never attended school for 
more than two months. He eagerly de- 
voured every book he could lay his hands on 
and is said to have read through an encyclo- 
pedia without missing a word. At thirteen he 
began his working life as a trainboy upon the 
Grand Trunk Railway between Port Huron 
and Detroit. Much of his time was now 
spent in Detroit, where he found increased 
facilities for reading at the public libraries. 



56 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



He was not content to be a newsboy, so he 
got together three hundred pounds of type 
and started the issue of the " Grand Trunk 
Herald." It was only a small amateur 
weekly, printed on one side, the impression 
being made from the type by hand. Chemi- 
cal research was his next undertaking and 
a laboratory was added to his movable pub- 
lishing house, which, by the way, was an 
old freight car. One day, however, as he 
was experimenting with some phosphorus, 
it ignited and the irate conductor threw the 
young seeker after the truth, chemicals and 
all, from the train. His office and laboratory 
were then removed to the cellar of his fa- 
ther's house. As he grew to manhood he 
decided to become an operator. He won 
his opportunity by saving the life of a child, 
whose father was an old operator, and out of 
gratitude he gave Mr. Edison lessons in teleg- 
raphy. Five months later he was compe- 
tent to fill a position in the railroad office 
at Port Huron. Hence he peregrinated to 
Stratford, Ontario, and thence successively 
to Adrian, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cin- 
cmnati, Memphis, Louisville and Boston, 
gradually becoming an expert operator and 
gaming experience that enabled him to 
evolve many ingenious ideas for the im- 
provement of telegraphic appliances. At 
Memphis he constructed an automatic re- 
peater, which enabled Louisville and New 
Orleans to communicate direct, and received 
nothing more than the thanks of his em- 
ployers. Mr. Edison came to New York in 
1870 in search of an opening more suitable 
to his capabilities and ambitions. He hap- 
pened to be in the office of the Laws Gold 
Reporting Company when one of the in- 
struments got out of order, and even the 
inventor of the system could not make it 
work. Edison requested to be allowed to 
attempt the task, and in a few minutes he 



had overcome the difficulty and secured an 
advantageous engagement. For several 
years he had a contract with the Western 
Union and the Gold Stock companies, 
whereby he received a large salary, besides 
a special price for all telegraphic improve- 
ments he cojuld suggest. Later, as the 
head of the Edison General Electric com- 
pany, with its numerous subordinate organ- 
izations and connections all over the civil- 
ized world, he became several times a 
millionaire. Mr. Edison invented the pho- 
nograph and kinetograph which bear his 
name, the carbon telephone, the tasimeter, 
and the duplex and quadruplex systems of 
telegraphy. 

JAMES LONGSTREET, one of the most 
conspicuous of the Confederate generals 
during the Civil war, was born in 1820, in 
South Carolina, but was early taken by his 
parents to Alabama where he grew to man- 
hood and received his early education. He 
graduated at the United States military 
academy in 1842, entering the army as 
lieutenant and spent a few years in the fron- 
tier service. When the Mexican war broke 
out he was called to the front and partici- 
pated in all the principal battles of that war 
up to the storming of Chapultepec, where 
he received severe wounds. For gallant 
conduct at Contreras, Cherubusco, and Mo- 
lino del Rey he received the brevets of cap- 
tain and major. After the close of the 
Mexican war Longstreet served as adjutant 
and captain on frontier service in Texas un- 
til 1858 when he was transferred to the staff 
as paymaster with rank of major. In June, 
1 86 1, he resigned to join the Confederacy 
and immediately went to the front, com- 
manding a brigade at Bull Run the follow- 
ing month. Promoted to be major-general 
in 1862 he thereafter bore a conspicuous 



coMPEXDnwr of nioGRArHr. 



part and rendered valuable service to the 
Confederate cause. He participated in 
many of the most severe battles of the Civil 
war including Bull Run (first and second), 
Seven Pines, Gainei,' Mill, Fraziers Farm, 
Malvern Hill, Antietam, Frederickburg, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, 
the Wilderness, Petersburg and most of the 
fighting about Richmond. 

When the war closed General Long- 
street accepted the result, renewed his alle- 
giance to the government, and thereafter 
labored earnestly to obliterate all traces of 
war and promote an era of good feeling be- 
tween all sections of the country. He took 
up his residence in New Orleans, and took 
an active interest and prominent part in 
public affairs, served as surveyor of that 
port for several years; was commissioner of 
engineers for Louisiana, served four years 
as school commissioner, etc. In 1875 he 
was appointed supervisor of internal revenue 
and settled in Georgia. After that time he 
served four years as United States minister 
to Turkey, and also for a number of 3'ears 
was United States marshal of Georgia, be- 
sides having held other important official 
positions. 

JOHN RUTLEDGE, the second chief- 
justice of the United States, was born 
at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1739. 
He was a son of John Rutledge, who had 
left Ireland for America about five years 
prior to the birth of our subject, and a 
brother of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the 
Declaration of Independence. John Rut- 
ledge received his legal education at the 
Temple, London, after which he returned 
to Charleston and soon won distinction at 
the bar. He was elected to the old Colonial 
congress in 1765 to protest against the 
" Stamp Act," and was a member of the 



South Carolina convention of 1774, and of 
the Continental congress of that and the 
succeeding year. In 1776 he was chairman 
of the committee that draughted the con- 
stitution of his state, and was president of 
the congress of that state. He was not 
pleased with the state constitution, how- 
ever, and resigned. In 1779 he was again 
chosen governor of the state, and granted 
e.xtraordinary powers, and he at once took 
the field to repel the British. He joined 
the army of General Gates in 1782, and the 
same year was elected to congress. He 
was a member of the constitutional con- 
vention which framed our present constitu- 
tion. In 1 789 he was appointed an associate 
justice of the first supreme court of the 
United States. He resigned to accept the 
position of chief-justice of his own state. 
Upon the resignation of Judge Jay, he was 
appointed chief-justice of the United States 
in 1795. The appointment was never con- 
firmed, for, after presiding at one session, 
his mind became deranged, and he was suc- 
ceeded by Judge Ellsworth. He died at 
Charleston, July 23, 1800. 



RALPH WALDO EMERSON was one 
of the most noted literary men of his 
time. He was born in Boston, Massachu- 
setts, May 25, 1803. He had a minister for 
an ancestor, either on the paternal or ma- 
ternal side, in every generation for eight 
generations back. His father. Rev. Will- 
iam Emerson, was a native of Concord, 
Massachusetts, born May 6, 1769, graduated 
at Harvard, in 1789, became a Unitarian 
minister; was a fine writer and one of the 
best orators of his day; died in 181 1. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson was fitted for 
college at the public schools of Boston, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1821, win- 
ning about this time several prizes for es- 



58 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



says. For five years he taught school in 
Boston; in 1826 was Hcensed to preach, and 
in 1S29 was ordained as a colleague to Rev. 
Henry Ware of the Second Unitarian church 
in Boston. In 1832 he resigned, making 
the announcement in a sermon of his un- 
;villingness longer to administer the rite of 
.he Lord's Supper, after which he spent 
about a year in Europe. Upon his return 
he began his career as a lecturer before the 
Boston Mechanics Institute, his subject be- 
ing "Water. " His early lectures on "Italy" 
and "Relation of Man to the Globe" also 
attracted considerable attention; as did also 
his biographical lectures on Michael Angelo, 
Milton, Luther, George Fox, and Edmund 
Burke. After that time he gave many 
courses of lectures in Boston and became 
one of the best known lecturers in America. 
But very few men have rendered such con- 
tinued service in this field. He lectured for 
forty successive seasons before the Salem, 
Massachusetts, Lyceum and also made re- 
peated lecturing tours in this country and in 
England. In 1835 Mr. Emerson took up 
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts, 
where he continued to make his home until 
his death which occurred April 27, 1882. 

Mr. Emerson's literary work covered a 
wide scope. He wrote and published many 
works, essays and poems, which rank high 
among the works of American literary men. 
A few of the many which he produced are 
the following: "Nature;" "The Method 
of Nature;" " Man Thinking;" "The Dial;" 
"Essays;" "Poems;" "English Traits;" 
"The Conduct of Life;" "May-Day and 
other Poems " and " Society and Solitude;" 
besides many others. He was a prominent 
member of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences, of the American Philosophical 
Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society 
and other kindred associations. 



ALEXANDER T. STEWART, one of 
the famous merchant princes of New 
York, was born near the city of Belfast, Ire- 
land, in 1803, and before he was eight years 
of age was left an orphan without any near 
relatives, save an aged grandfather. The 
grandfather being a pious Methodist wanted 
to make a minister of young Stewart, and 
accordingly put him in a school with that 
end in view and he graduated at Trinity Col- 
lege, in Dublin. When scarcely twenty 
years of age he came to New York. His 
first employment was that of a teacher, but 
accident soon made him a merchant. En- 
tering into business relations with an ex- 
perienced man of his acquaintance he soon 
found himself with the rent of a store on 
his hands and alone in a new enterprise. 
Mr. Stewart's business grew rapidly in all 
directions, but its founder had executive 
ability sufficient for any and all emergencies, 
and in time his house became one of the 
greatest mercantile establishments of mod- 
ern times, and the name of Stewart famous. 
Mr. Stewart's death occurred April 10, 
1876. 

JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. — In 
speaking of this noted American nov- 
elist, William Cullen Bryant said: " He 
wrote for mankind at large, hence it is that 
he has earned a fame wider than any Amer- 
ican author of modern times. The crea- 
tions of his genius shall survive through 
centuries to come, and only perish with our 
language." Another eminent writer (Pres- 
cott) said of Cooper: " In his productions 
every American must take an honest pride; 
for surely no one has succeeded like Cooper 
in the portraiture of American character, or 
has given such glowing and eminently truth- 
ful pictures of American scenery." 
I James Fenimore Cooper was born Sep- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



tember 15, 1789, at Burlington, New Jer- 
sey, and was a son of Judge William Cooper. 
About a year after the birth of our subject 
the family removed to Otsego county, New 
York, and founded the town called " Coop- 
erstown." James Fenimore Cooper spent 
his childhood there and in 1802 entered 
Yale College, and four years later became a 
midshipman in the United States navy. In 
181 1 he was married, quit the seafaring life, 
and began devoting more or less time to lit- 
erary pursuits. His first work was " Pre- 
caution," a novel published in 18 19, and 
three years later he produced "The Spy, a 
Tale of Neutral Ground," which met with 
great favor and was a universal success. 
This was followed by many other works, 
among which may be mentioned the follow- 
ing: "The Pioneers," "The Pilot," "Last 
of the Mohicans," "The Prairie, "" The 
Red Rover," "The Manikins," "Home- 
ward Bound," "Home as Found," "History 
of the United States Navy," "The Path- 
finder," "Wing and Wing," "Afloat and 
Ashore," "The Chain-Bearer," "Oak- 
Openings," etc. J. Fenimore Cooper died 
at Cooperstown, New York, September 14, 
1851. 

MARSHALL FIELD, one of the mer- 
chant princes of America, ranks among 
the most successful business men of the cen- 
tury. He was born in 1835 at Conway, 
Massachusetts. He spent his early life on 
a farm and secured a fair education in the 
common schools, supplementing this with a 
course at the Conway Academy. His 
natural bent ran in the channels of commer- 
cial life, and at the age of seventeen he was 
given a position in a store at Pittsfie'.d, 
Massachusetts. Mr. Field remained there 
four years and removed to Chicago in 1856. 
He began his career in Chicago as a clerk 



in the wholesale dry goods house of Cooley, 
Wadsworth & Company, which later be- 
came Cooley, Farwell & Company, and still 
later John V. Farwell & Company. He 
remained with them four years and exhibit- 
ed marked ability, in recognition of which 
he was given a partnership. In 1865 Mr. 
Field and L. Z. Leiter, who was also a 
member of the firm, withdrew and formed 
the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter, the 
third partner being Potter Palmer, and they 
continued in business until 1867, when Mr. 
Palmer retired and the firm became Field, 
Leiter & Company. They ran under the 
latter name until 1881, when Mr. Leiter re- 
tired and the house has since continued un- 
der the name of Marshall Field & Company. 
The phenomenal success accredited to the 
house is largely due to the marked ability 
of Mr. Field, the house had become one of 
the foremost in the west, with an annual 
sale of $8,000,000 in 1870. The total loss 
of the firm during the Chicago fire was 
$3,500,000 of which $2,500,000 was re- 
covered through the insurance companies. 
It rapidly recovered from the effects of this 
and to-day the annual sales amount to over 
$40,000,000. Mr. Field's real estate hold- 
ings amounted to $10,000,000. He was 
one of the heaviest subscribers to the Bap- 
tist University fund although he is a Presby- 
terian, and gave $1,000,000 for the endow- 
ment of the Field Columbian Museum — 
one of the greatest institutions of the kind 
in the world. 

EDGAR WILSON NYE. who won an im- 
mense popularity under the pen name 
of " Bill Nye," was one of the most eccen- 
tric humorists of his day. He was born Au- 
gust 25, 1850, at Shirley, Piscataqua coun- 
ty, Maine, "at a very early age " as he e.\- 
presses it. He took an academic course in 



60 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



River Falls, Wisconsin, from whence, after 
his graduation, he removed to Wyoming 
Territory. He studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1876. He began when 
quite young to contribute humorous sketches 
to the newspapers, became connected with 
various western journals and achieved a 
brilliant success as a humorist. Mr. Nye 
settled later in New York City where he 
devoted his time to writing funny articles for 
the big newspaper syndicates. He wrote for 
publication in book form the following : 
"Bill Nye and the Boomerang," "The 
Forty Liars," "Baled Hay," "Bill Nye's 
Blossom Rock," "Remarks," etc. His 
death occurred February 21, 1896, at Ashe- 
ville, North Carolina. ' 



THOMAS DE WITT TALMAGE, one of 
the most celebrated American preach- 
ers, was born January 7, 1832, and was the 
youngest of twelve children. He made his 
preliminary studies at the grammar school 
in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At the age 
of eighteen he joined the church and entered 
the University of the City of New York, and 
graduated in May, 1853. The exercises 
were held in Niblo's Garden and his speech 
aroused the audience to a high pitch of en- 
thusiasm. At the close of his college duties 
he imagined himself interested in the law 
and for three years studied law. Dr. Tal- 
mage then perceived his mistake and pre- 
pared himself for the ministry at the 
Reformed Dutch Church Theological Semi- 
nary at New Brunswick, New Jersey. Just 
after his ordination the young minister re- 
ceived two calls, one from Piermont, New 
York, and the other from Belleville, New 
Jersey. Dr. Talmage accepted the latter 
and for three years filled that charge, when 
he was called to Syracuse, New York. Here 
it was that his sermons first drew large 



crowds of people to his church, and from 
thence dates his popularity. Afterward he 
became the pastor of the Second Reformed 
Dutch church, of Philadelphia, remaining 
seven years, during which period he first 
entered upon the lecture platform and laid 
the foundation for his future reputation. At 
the end of this time he received three calls, 
one from Chicago, one from San Francisco, 
and one from the Central Presbyterian 
church of Brooklyn, which latter at that 
time consisted of only nineteen members 
with a congregation of about thirty-five. 
This church offered him a salary of seven 
thousand dollars and he accepted the call. 
He soon induced the trustees to sell the old 
church and build a new one. They did so 
and erected the Brooklyn Tabernacle, but 
it burned down shortly after it was finished. 
By prompt sympathy and general liberality 
a new church was built and formally opened 
in February, 1874. It contained seats for 
four thousand, six hundred and fifty, but if 
necessary seven thousand could be accom- 
modated. In October, 1878, his salary was 
raised from seven thousand dollars to twelve 
thousand dollars, and in the autumn of 1889 
the second tabernacle was destroyed by fire. 
A third tabernacle was built and it was for- 
mally dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1891. 

JOHN PHILIP SOUSA, conceded as 
being one of the greatest band leaders 
in the world, won his fame while leader of 
the United States Marine Band at Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia. He was not 
originally a band player but was a violinist, 
and at the age of seventeen he was conduc- 
tor of an opera company, a profession which 
he followed for several years, until he was 
offered the leadership of the Marine Band 
at Washington. The proposition was re- 
pugnant to him at first but he accepted the 



COMrEXniLM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



offer and then ensued ten years of brilliant 
success with that organization. When he 
first took the Marine Band he began to 
gather the national airs of all the nations 
that have representatives in Washington, 
and compiled a comprehensive volume in- 
cluding nearly all the national songs of the 
different nations. He composed a number 
of marches, waltzes and two-steps, promi- 
nent among which are the "Washington 
Post," "Directorate," "King Cotton," 
"High School Cadets," "Belle of Chica- 
go," "Liberty Bell March," "Manhattan 
Beach," "On Parade March," "Thunderer 
March," "Gladiator March," " El Capitan 
March," etc. He became a very extensive 
composer of this class of music. 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, sixth president 
of the United States, was born in 
Braintree, Massachusetts, July ii, 1767, 
the son of John Adams. At the age of 
eleven he was sent to school at Paris, and 
two years later to Leyden, where he entered 
that great university. He returned to the 
United States in 1785, and graduated from 
Harvard in 1788. He then studied law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1791. His 
practice brought no income the first two 
years, but he won distinction in literary 
fields, and was appointed minister to The 
Hague in 1794. He married in 1797, and 
went as minister to Berlin the same year, 
serving until 1801, when Jefferson became 
president. He was elected to the senate in 
1803 by the Federalists, but was condemned 
by that party for advocating the Embargo 
Act and other Anti-Federalist measures. He 
was appointed as professor of rhetoric at 
Harvard in 1805, and in 1809 was sent as 
minister to Russia. He assisted in negotiat- 
ing the treaty of peace with England in 
1814, and became minister to that power 



the next year. He served during Monroe's 
administration two terms as secretary of 
state, during which time party lines were 
obliterated, and in 1824 four candidates for 
president appeared, all of whom were iden- 
tified to some extent with the new " Demo- 
cratic" party. Mr. Adams received 84 elec- 
toral votes, Jackson 99, Crawford 41, and 
Clay 37. As no candidate had a majority 
of all votes, the election went to the house 
of representatives, which elected Mr. Adams. 
As Clay had thrown his influence to Mr. 
Adams, Clay became secretary of state, and 
this caused bitter feeling on the part of the 
Jackson Democrats, who were joined by 
Mr. Crawford and his following, and op- 
posed every measure of the administration. 
In the election of 1828 Jackson was elected 
over Mr. Adams by a great majority. 

Mr. Adams entered the lower house of 
congress in 1830, elected from the district 
in which he was born and continued to rep- 
resent it for seventeen years. He was 
known as " the old man eloquent," and his 
work in congress was independent of party. 
He opposed slavery extension and insisted 
upon presenting to congress, one at a time, 
the hundreds of petitions against the slave 
power. One of these petitions, presented in 
1842, was signed by forty-five citizens of 
Massachusetts, and prayed congress for a 
peaceful dissolution of the Union. His 
enemies seized upon this as an opportunity 
to crush their powerful foe, and in a caucus 
meeting determined upon his expulsion from 
congress. Finding they would not be able 
to command enough votes for this, they de- 
cided upon a course that would bring equal 
disgrace. They formulated a resolution to 
the effect that while he merited expulsion, 
the house would, in great mercy, substitute 
its severest censure. When it was read in the 
house the old man, then in his seventy-fifth 



62 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



year, arose and demanded that the first para- 
graph of the Declaration of Independence 
be read as his defense. It embraced the 
famous sentence, "that whenever any form 
of government becomes destructive to those 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or 
abolish it, and to institute new government, 
etc., etc." After eleven days of hard fight- 
ing his opponents were defeated. On Febru- 
ary 2 1, 1848, he rose to address the speaker 
on the Oregon question, when he suddenly 
fell from a stroke of paralysis. He died 
soon after in the rotunda of the capitol, 
where he had been conveyed by his col- 
leagues. 

SUSAN B. ANTHONY was one of the 
most famous women of America. She 
was born at South Adams, Massachusetts, 
February 15, 1820, the daughter of a 
Quaker. She received a good education 
and became a school teacher, following that 
profession for fifteen years in New York. 
Beginning with about 1852 she became the 
active leader of the woman's rights move- 
ment and won a wide reputation for her 
zeal and ability. She also distinguished 
herself for her zeal and eloquence in the 
temperance, and anti-slavery causes, and 
became a conspicuous figure during the war. 
After the close of the war she gave most of 
her labors to the cause of woman's suffrage. 

PHILIP D. ARMOUR, one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the mercantile 
history of America, was born May 16, 1832, 
on a farm at Stockbridge, Madison county. 
New York, and received his early education 
in the common schools of that county. He 
was apprenticed to a farmer and worked 
faithfully and well, being very ambitious and 
desiring to start out for himself. At the 
age of twenty he secured a release from his 



indentures and set out overland for the 
gold fields of California. After a great 
deal of hard work he accumulated a little 
money and then came east and settled 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went into 
the grain receiving and warehouse busi- 
ness and was fairly successful, and later on 
he formed a partnership with John Flankin- 
ton in the pork packing line, the style of the 
firm being Plankinton & Armour. Mr. Ar- 
mour made his first great "deal " in selling 
pork "short" on the New York market in 
the anticipation of the fall of the Confed- 
eracy, and Mr. Armour is said to have made 
through this deal a million dollars. He then 
established packing houses in Chicago and 
Kansas City, and in 1875 he removed to 
Chicago. He increased his business by add- 
ing to it the shipment of dressed beef to 
the European markets, and many other lines 
of trade and manufacturing, and it rapidly 
assumed vast proportions, employing an 
army of men in different lines of the busi- 
ness. Mr. Armour successfully conducted a 
great many speculative deals in pork and 
grain of immense proportions and also erected 
many large warehouses for the storage of 
grain. He became one of the representative 
business men of Chicago, where he became 
closely identified with all enterprises of a 
public nature, but his fame as a great busi- 
ness man extended to all parts of the world. 
He founded the "Armour Institute " at Chi- 
cago and also contributed largely to benevo- 
lent and charitable institutions. 

ROBERT FULTON.— Although Fulton 
is best known as the inventor of the 
first successful steamboat, yet his claims to 
distinction do not rest alone upon that, for 
he was an inventor along other lines, a 
painter and an author. He was born at 
Little Britain, Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAnir. 



65 



vania, in 1765, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
At the age of seventeen he removed to Phila- 
delphia, and there and in New York en- 
gaged in miniature painting with success 
both from a pecuniary and artistic point of 
view. With the results of his labors he pur- 
:hased a farm for the support of his mother. 
He went to London and studied under the 
great painter, Benjamin West, and all 
through life retained his fondness for art 
and gave evidence of much ability in that 
line. While in England he was brought in 
contact with the Duke of Bridgewater, the 
father of the English canal system; Lord 
Stanhope, an eminent mechanician, and 
James Watt, the inventor of the steam en- 
gine. Their influence turned his mind to its 
true field of labor, that of mechanical in- 
vention. Machines for flax spinning, 
marble sawing, rope making, and for remov- 
ing earth from excavations, are among his 
earliest ventures. His "Treatise on the 
Improvement of Canal Navigation," issued 
in 1796, and a series of essays on canals 
were soon followed by an English patent 
for canal improvements. In 1797 he went 
to Paris, where he resided until 1806, and 
there invented a submarine torpedo boat for 
maritime defense, but which was rejected 
by the governments of France, England and 
the United States. In 1803 he offered to con- 
struct for the Emperor Napoleon a steam- 
boat that would assist in carrying out the 
plan of invading Great Britain then medi- 
tated by that great captain. In pursuance 
he constructed his first steamboat on the 
Seine, but it did not prove a full success 
and the idea was abandoned by the French 
government. By the aid of Livingston, 
then United States minister to France, 
Fulton purchased, in 1806, an engine which 
he brought to this country. After studying 
the defects of his own and other attempts in 



this line he built and launched in 1807 the 
Clermont, the first successful steamboat. 
This craft only attained a speed of five 
miles an hour while going up North river. 
His first patent not fully covering his in- 
vention, Fulton was engaged in many law 
suits for infringement. He constructed 
many steamboats, ferryboats, etc., among 
these being the United States steamer 
" Fulton the First," built in 18 14, the first 
war steamer ever built. This craft never 
attained any great speed owing to some de- 
fects in construction and accidentally blew 
up in 1829. Fulton died in New York, Feb- 
ruary 21, 181 5. 



SALMON PORTLAND CHASE, sixth 
chief-justice of the United States, and 
one of the most eminent of American jurists, 
was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, Jan- 
uary 13, 1808. At the age of nine he was 
left in poverty by the death of his father, 
but means were found to educate him. He 
was sent to his uncle, a bishop, who con- 
ducted an academy near Columbus, Ohio, 
and here young Chase worked on the farm 
and attended school. At the age of fifteen 
he returned to his native state and entered 
Dartmouth College, from which he gradu- 
ated in 1 826. He then went to Washington, 
and engaged in teaching school, and study- 
ing law under the instruction of William 
Wirt. He was licensed to practice in 1829, 
and went to Cincinnati, where he had a 
hard struggle for several years following. 
He had in the meantime prepared notes on 
the statutes of Ohio, which, when published, 
brought him into prominence locally. He 
was soon after appointed solicitor of the 
United States Bank. In 1837 he appeared 
as counsel for a fugitive slave woman, Ma- 
tilda, and sought by all the powers of his 
learning and eloquence to prevent her owner 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



from reclaiming her. He acted in many 
other cases, and devolved the trite expres- 
?;ion, "Slavery is sectional, freedom is na- 
tional." He was employed to defend Van 
Zandt before the supreme court of the United 
States in 1846, which was one of the most 
noted cases connected with the great strug- 
gle against slavery. By this time Mr. Chase 
had become the recognized leader of that 
element known as " free-soilers." He was 
elected to the United States senate in 1849, 
and was chosen governor of Ohio in 1855 
and re-elected in 1857. He was chosen to 
the United States senate from Ohio in 1861, 
but was made secretary of the treasur}' by 
Lincoln and accepted. He inaugurated a 
financial system to replenish the exhausted 
treasury and meet the demands of the great- 
est war in history and at the same time to 
revive the industries of the country. One 
of the measures which afterward called for 
his judicial attention was the issuance of 
currency notes which were made a legal 
tender in payment of debts. When this 
question came before him as chief-justice 
of the United States he reversed his former 
action and declared the measure unconstitu- 
tional. The national banking system, by 
which all notes issued were to be based on 
funded government bonds of equal or greater 
amounts, had its direct origin with Mr. Chase. 
Mr. Chase resigned the treasury port- 
folio in 1864, and was appointed the same 
year as chief-justice of the United States 
supreme court. The great questions that 
came up before him at this crisis in the life 
of the nation were no less than those which 
confronted the first chief-justice at the for- 
mation of our government. Reconstruction, 
private, state and national interests, the 
constitutionality of the acts of congress 
passed in times of great excitement, the 
construction and interpretation to be placed 



upon the several amendments to the national 
constitution, —these were among the vital 
questions requiring prompt decision. He 
received a paralytic stroke in 1870, which 
impaired his health, though his mental 
powers were not affected. He continued to 
preside at the opening terms for two years 
following and died May 7, 1873. 



HARRIET ELIZABETH BEECHER 
STOWE, a celebrated American writ- 
er, was born June 14, 18 12, at Litchfield, 
Connecticut. She was a daughter of Lyman 
Beecher and asisterof Henry Ward Beecher, 
two noted divines; was carefully educated, 
and taught school for several years at Hart- 
ford, Connecticut. In 1832 Miss Beecher 
married Professor Stowe, then of Lane Semi- 
nary, Cincinnati, Ohio, and afterwards at 
Bowdoin College and Andover Seminary. 
Mrs. Stowe published in 1849 "The May- 
flower, or sketches of the descendants of the 
Pilgrims," and in 1851 commenced in the 
' ' National Era " of Washington, a serial story 
which was published separately in 1852 under 
the title of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This 
book attained almost unparalleled success 
both at home and abroad, and within ten years 
it had been translated in almost every lan- 
guage of the civilized world. Mrs. Stowe pub- 
lished in 1853 a "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
in which the data that she used was published 
and its truthfulness was corroborated. In 
1853 she accompanied her husband and 
brother to Europe, and on her return pub- 
lished "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands " 
in 1854. Mrs. Stowe was for some time 
one of the editors of the ' ' Atlantic Monthly " 
and the " Hearth and Home," for which 
she had written a number of articles. 
Among these, also published separately, are 
" Dred, a tale of the Great Dismal Swamp " 
(later published under the title of "Nina 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Gordon"); "The Minister's Wooing;" "The 
Pearl of Orr's Island;" "Agnes of Sorrento;" 
• 'Oldtown Folks;" " My Wife and I;" "Bible 
Heroines," and "A Dof;;'s Mission." Mrs. 
Stovve's death occurred July i, 1896, at 
Hartford, Connecticut. 



THOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON, bet- 
ter known as "Stonewall" Jackson, 
was one of the most noted of the Confeder- 
ate generals of the Civil war. He was a 
soldier by nature, an incomparable lieuten- 
ant, sure to execute any operation entrusted 
to him with marvellous precision, judgment 
and courage, and all his individual cam- 
paigns and combats bore the stamp of a 
masterly capacity for war. He was born 
January 21, 1824, at Clarksburg, Harrison 
county, West Virginia. He was early in 
life imbued with the desire to be a soldier 
and it is said walked from the mountains of 
Virginia to Washington, secured the aid of 
his congressman, and was appointed cadet 
at the United States Military Academy at 
West Point from which he was graduated in 

1846. Attached to the army as brevet sec- 
ond lieutenant of the First Artillery, his Rrst 
service was as a subaltern with Magruder's 
battery of light artillery in the Mexican war. 
He participated at the reduction of Vera 
Cruz, and was noticed for gallantry in the 
battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Moline 
del Rey, Chapultepcc, and the capture of 
the city of Mexico, receiving the brevets of 
captain for conduct at Contreras and Cher- 
ubusco and of major at Chapultepec. In 
the meantime he had been advanced by 
regular promotion to be first lieutenant in 

1847. In 1852, the war having closed, he 
resigned and became professor of natural 
and experimental philosophy and artillery 
instructor at the Virginia State Military 
Institute at Lexington, Virginia, where he 



remained until Virginia declared for seces- 
sion, he becoming chiefly noted for intense 
religious sentiment coupled with personal 
eccentricities. Upon the breaking out of 
the war he was made colonel and placed in 
command of a force sent to sieze Harper's 
Ferry, which he accomplished May 3, 1861. 
Relieved by General J. E. Johnston, May 
23, he took command of the brigade of 
Valley Virginians, whom he moulded into 
that brave corps, baptized at the first 
Manassas, and ever after famous as the 
" Stonewall Brigade. " After this ' ' Stone- 
wall " Jackson was made a major-general, 
in 1861, and participated until his death in 
all the famous campaigns about Richmond 
and in Virginia, and was a conspicuous fig- 
ure in the memorable battles of that time. 
May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville, he was 
wounded severely by his own troops, two 
balls shattering his left arm and another 
passing through the palm of his right hand. 
The left arm was amputated, but pneumonia 
intervened, and, weakened by the great loss 
of blood, he died May 10, 1863. The more 
his operations in the Shenandoah valley in 
1862 are studied the more striking must the 
merits of this great soldier appear. 



JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.— 
kJ Near to the heart of the people of the 
Anglo-Saxon race will ever lie the verses of 
this, the "Quaker Poet." The author of 
"Barclay of Ury," "Maud Muller" and 
"Barbara Frietchie," always pure, fervid 
and direct, will be remembered when many 
a more ambitious writer has been forgotten. 
John G. Whittier was born at Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, December 7, 1807, of 
Quaker parentage. He had but a common- 
school education and passed his boyhood 
days upon a farm. In early life he learned 
the trade of shoemaker. At the age of 



68 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



eighteen he began to write verses for the 
Haverhill '' Gazette." He spent two years 
after that at the Haverhill academy, after 
which, in 1829, he became editor of the 
"American Manufacturer," at Boston. In 
1830 he succeeded George D. Prentice as 
editor of the "New England Weekly Re- 
view," but the following year returned to 
Haverhill and engaged in farming. In 1832 
and in 1836 he edited the " Gazette." In 
1835 he was elected a member of the legis- 
lature, serving two years. In 1 836 he became 
secretary of the Anti-slavery Society of Phil- 
adelphia. In 1838 and 1839 he edited the 
" Pennsylvania Freeman," but in the latter 
year the office was sacked and burned by a 
mob. In 1840 Whittier settled at Ames- 
bury, Massachusetts. In 1847 he became 
corresponding editor of the "National Era," 
an anti-slavery paper published at Washing- 
ton, and contributed to its columns many of 
his anti-slavery and other favorite lyrics. 
Mr. Whittier lived for many years in retire- 
ment of Quaker simplicity, publishing several 
volumes of poetry which have raised him to 
a high place among American authors and 
brought to him the love and admiration of 
his countrymen. In the electoral colleges 
of 1 860 and 1 864 Whittier was a member. 
Much of his time after 1876 was spent at 
Oak Knoll, Danvers, Massachusetts, but 
still retained his residence at Amesbury. 
He never married. His death occurred Sep- 
tember 7, 1892. 

The more prominent prose writings of 
John G. Whittier are as follows: "Legends 
of New England," "Justice and Expediency, 
or Slavery Considered with a View to Its Abo- 
lition," " The Stranger in Lowell," "Super- 
naturalism in New England," " Leaves from 
Margaret Smith's Journal," "Old Portraits 
and Modern Sketches" and "Literary 
Sketches." 



DAVID DIXON PORTER, illustrious as 
admiral of the United States navy, and 
famous as one of the most able naval offi- 
cers of America, was born in Pennsylvania, 
June 8, 1814. His father was also a naval 
officer of distinction, who left the service of 
the United States to become commander of 
the naval forces of Mexico during the war 
between that country and Spain, and 
through this fact David Dixon Porter was 
appointed a midshipman in the Mexican 
navy. Two years later David D. Porter 
joined the United States navy as midship- 
man, rose in rank and eighteen years later 
as a lieutenant he is found actively engaged 
in all the operations of our navy along the 
east coast of Mexico. When the Civil war 
broke out Porter, then a commander, was 
dispatched in the Powhattan to the relief of 
Fort Pickens, Florida. This duty accom- 
plished, he fitted out a mortar flotilla for 
the reduction of the forts guarding the ap- 
proaches to New Orleans, which it was con- 
sidered of vital importance for the govern- 
ment to get possession of. After the fall of 
New Orleans the mortar flotilla was actively 
engaged at Vicksburg, and in the fall of 
1862 Porter was made a rear-admiral and 
placed in command of all the naval forces 
on the western rivers above New Orleans. 
The ability of the man was now con- 
spicuously manifested, not only in the bat- 
tles in which he was engaged, but also in 
the creation of a formidable fleet out of 
river steamboats, which he covered with 
such plating as they would bear. In 1864 
he was transferred to the Atlantic coast to 
command the naval forces destined to oper- 
ate against the defences of Wilmington, 
North Carolina, and on Jan. 15, 1865, the 
fall of Fort Fisher was hailed by the country 
as a glorious termination of his arduous war 
service. In 1866 he was made vice-admiral 



COMPENDIUAf OF BIOGRAPnr. 



69 



and appointed superintendent of the Naval 
Academy. On the death of Farragut, in 
1870, he succeeded that able man as ad- 
miral of the navy. His death occurred at 
Washington, February 13, 1891. 

NATHANIEL GREENE was one of the 
best known of the distinguished gen- 
erals who led the Continental soldiery 
against the hosts of Great Britain during 
the Revolutionary war. He was the son 
of Quaker parents, and was born at War- 
wick, Rhode Island, May 27, 1742. In 
youth he acquired a good education, chiefiy 
by his own efforts, as he was a tireless 
reader. In 1770 he was elected a member 
of the Assembly of his native state. The 
news of the battle of Lexington stirred 
his blood, and he offered his services to 
the government of the colonies, receiving 
the rank of brigadier-general and the com- 
mand of the troops from Rhode Island. 
He led them to the camp at Cambridge, 
and for thus violating the tenets of their 
faith, he was cast out of the Society of 
Friends, or Quakers. He soon won the es- 
teem of -General Washington. In August, 

1776, Congress promoted Greene to the 
rank of major-general, and in the battles of 
Trenton and Princeton he led a division. 
At the battle of Brandy wine, September 11, 

1777, he greatly distinguished himself, pro- 
tecting the retreat of the Continentals by 
his firm stand. At the battle of German- 
town, October 4, the same year, he com- 
manded the left wing of the army with 
credit. In March, 1778, he reluctantly ac- 
cepted the office of quartermaster-general, 
but only with the understanding that his 
rank m the army would not be affected and 
that in action he should retain his command. 
On the bloody field of Monmouth, June 28, 

1778, he commanded the right wing, as he 



did at the battle of Tiverton Heights. He 
was in command of the army in 1780, dur- 
ing the absence of Washington, and was 
president of the court-martial that tried and 
condemned Major Andre. After General 
Gates' defeat at Camden, North Carolina, in 
the summer of 1780, General Greene was ap- 
pointed to the command of the southern army. 
He sent out a force under General Morgan 
who defeated General Tarleton at Cowpens, 
January 17, 1781. On joining his lieuten- 
ant, in February, he found himself out num- 
bered by the British and retreated in good 
order to Virginia, but being reinforced re- 
turned to North Carolina where he fought 
the battle of Guilford, and a few days later 
compelled the retreat of Lord Cornwallis. 
The British were followed by Greene part 
of the way, when the American army 
marched into South Carolina. After vary- 
ing success he fought the battle of Eutaw 
Springs, September 8, 1781. For the latter 
battle and its glorious consequences, which 
virtually closed the war in the Carolinas, 
Greene received a medal from Congress and 
many valuable grants of land from the 
colonies of North and South Carolina and 
Georgia. On the return of peace, after a 
year spent in Rhode Island, General Greene 
took up his residence on his estate near 
Savannah, Georgia, where he died June 19, 
1786. 

EDGAR ALLEN POE.— Among the 
many great literary men whom this 
country has produced, there is perhaps no 
name more widely known than that of Ed- 
gar Allen Poe. He was born at Boston, 
Massachusetts, February 19, 1809. His 
parents were David and Elizabeth (Arnold) 
Poe, both actors, the mother said to have 
been the natural daughter of Benedict Ar- 
nold. The parents died while Edgar was 



JO 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHr. 



still a child and he was adopted by John 
Allen, a wealthy and influential resident of 
Richmond, Virginia. Edgar was sent to 
school at Stoke, Newington, England, 
where he remained until he was thirteen 
years old; was prepared for college by pri- 
vate tutors, and in 1826 entered the Virginia 
University at Charlottesville. He made 
rapid progress in his studies, and was dis- 
tinguished for his scholarship, but was ex- 
pelled within a year for gambling, after 
which for several years he resided with his 
benefactor at Richmond. He then went to 
Baltimore, and in 1829 published a 71 -page 
pamphlet called "Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane 
and Minor Poems," which, however, at- 
tracted no attention and contained nothing 
of particular merit. In 1830 he was ad- 
mitted as a cadet at West Point, but was 
expelled about a year later for irregulari- 
ties. Returning to the home of Mr. Allen 
he remained for some time, and finally 
quarrelled with his benefactor and enlisted 
as a private soldier in the U. S. army, but 
remained only a short time. Soon after 
this, in 1833, Poe won several prizes for 
literary work, and as a result secured the 
position of editor of 1»he ' ' Southern Liter- 
ary Messenger," at Richmond, Virginia. 
Here he married his cousin, Virginia 
Clemm, who clung to him with fond devo- 
tion through all the many trials that came 
to them until her death in January, 1848. 
Poe remained with the "Messenger" for 
several years, writing meanwhile many 
tales, reviews, essays and poems. He aft- 
erward earned a precarious living by his 
pen in New York for a time; in 1839 be- 
came editor of "Burton's Gentleman's 
Magazine" ; in 1840 to 1842 was editor of 
" Graham's Magazine," and drifted around 
from one place to another, returning to 
New York in 1844. In i845 his .best 



known production, "The Raven," appeared 
in the "Whig Review, " and gained him a 
reputation which is now almost world-wide. 
He then acted as editor and contributor on 
various magazines and periodicals until the 
death of his faithful wife in 1848. In the 
summer of 1849 he Was engaged to be mar- 
ried to a lady of fortune in Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, and the day set for the wedding. 
He started for New York to make prepara- 
tions for the event, but, it is said, began 
drinking, was attacked with dilirium tre- 
mens in Baltimore and was removed to a 
hospital, where he died, October 7, 1849. 
The works of Edgar Allen Poe have been 
repeatedly published since his death, both 
in Europe and America, and have attained 
an immense popularity. 



HORATIO GATES, one of the prom- 
inent figures in the American war for 
Independence, was not a native of the col- 
onies but was born in England in 1728. In 
early life he entered the British army and 
attained the rank of major. At the capture 
of Martinico he was aide to General Monk- 
ton and after the peace of Aix la Chapelle, 
in 1748, he was among the first troops that 
landed at Halifax. He was with Braddock 
at his defeat in 1755, and was there severe- 
ly wounded. At the conclusion of the 
French and Indian war Gates purchased an 
estate in Virginia, and, resigning from the 
British army, settled down to life as a 
planter. On the breaking out of the Rev- 
olutionary war he entered the service of the 
colonies and was made adjutant-general of 
the Continental forces with the rank of 
brigadier-general. He accompanied Wash- 
ington when he assumed the command ol 
the army. In June, 1776, he was appoint- 
ed to the command of the army of Canada, 
but was superseded in May of the following 



C OMP/iXDI [ 'M or BIO GRA P/ir 



71 



year by General Schuyler. In August, 
1777, however, the command of that army 
was restored to General Gates and Septem- 
ber 19 he fought the battle of Bemis 
Heights. October 7, the same year, he 
won the battle of Stillwater, or Saratoga, 
and October 17 received the surrender of 
General Burgoyne and his army, the pivotal 
point of the war. This gave him a brilliant 
reputation. June 13, 17S0, General Gates 
was appointed to the command of the 
southern military division, and August 16 of 
that year suffered defeat at the hands of 
Lord Cornwallis, at Camden, North Car- 
olina. In December following he was 
superseded in the command by General 
Nathaniel Greene. 

On the signing of the peace treaty Gen- 
eral Gates retired to his plantation in 
Berkeley county, Virginia, where he lived 
until 1790, when, emancipating all his 
slaves, he removed to New York City, where 
he resided until his death, April 10, 1806. 



LYMAN J. GAGE.— When President Mc- 
Kinley selected Lyman J. Gage as sec- 
retary of the treasury he chose one of the 
most eminent financiers of the century. Mr. 
Gage was born June 28, 1836, at De Ruy- 
ter, Madison county. New York, and was of 
English descent. He went to Rome, New 
York, with his parents when he was ten 
years old, and received his early education 
in the Rome Academy. Mr. Gage gradu- 
ated from the same, and his first position 
was that of a clerk in the post office. When 
he was fifteen years of age he was detailed 
as mail agent on the Rome & Watertown 
R. R. until the postmaster-general appointed 
regular agents for the route. In 1854, when 
lie was in his eighteenth year, he entered 
the Oneida Central Bank at Rome as a 
junior clerk at a salary of one hundred dol- 



lars per year. Being unable at the end of 
one year and a half's service to obtain an 
increase in salary he determined to seek a 
wider field of labor. Mr. Gage set out in 
the fall of 1855 and arrived in Chicago, 
Illinois, on October 3, and soon obtained a 
situation in Nathan Cobb's lumber yard and 
planing mill. He remained there three years 
as a bookkeeper, teamster, etc., and left on 
account of change in the management. But 
not being able to find anything else to do he 
accepted the position of night watchman in 
the place for a period of six weeks. He 
then became a bookkeeper for the Mer- 
chants Saving, Loan and Trust Company at 
a salary of five hundred dollars per year. 
He rapidly advanced in the service of this 
company and in 1868 he was made cashier. 
Mr. Gage was next offered the position of 
cashier of the First National Bank and ac- 
cepted the offer. He became the president 
of the First National Bank of Chicago Jan- 
uary 24, 1891, and in 1 897 he was appointed 
secretary of the treasury. His ability as a 
financier and the prominent part he took in 
the discussion of financial affairs while presi- 
dent of the great Chicago bank gave him a 
national reputation. 



ANDREW JACKSON, the seventh pres- 
ident of the United States, was born 
at the Waxhaw settlement. Union county, 
North Carolina, March 15, 1767. His 
parents were Scotch-Irish, natives of Carr- 
ickfergus, who came to this country in 1665 
and settled on Twelve-Mile creek, a trib- 
utary of the Catawba. His father, who 
was a poor farm laborer, died shortly be- 
fore Andrew's birth, when the mother re- 
moved to Waxhaw, where some relatives 
lived. Andrew's education was very limited, 
he showing no aptitude for studj'. In 1780 
when but thirteen years of age, he and his 



72 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPH7'. 



brother Robert volunteered to serve in the 
American partisan troops under General 
Sumter, and witnessed the defeat at Hang- 
ing Rock. The following year the boys 
were both taken prisoners by the enemy 
and endured brutal treatment from the 
British officers while confined at Camden. 
They both took the small pox, when the 
mother procured their exchange but Robert 
died shortly after. The mother died in 
Charleston of ship fever, the same year. 

Young Jackson, now in destitute cir- 
cumstances, worked for about six months in 
a saddler's shop, and then turned school 
master, although but little fitted for the 
position. He now began to think of a pro- 
fession and at Salisbury, North Carolina, 
entered upon the study of law, but from all 
accounts gave but little attention to his 
books, being one of the most roistering, 
rollicking fellows in that town, indulging in 
many of the vices of his time. In 1786 he 
was admitted to the bar and in 1788 re- 
moved to Nashville, then in North Carolina, 
with the appointment of public prosecutor, 
then an office of little honor or emolument, 
but requiring much nerve, for which young 
Jackson was already noted. Two years 
later, when Tennessee became a territory 
he was appointed by Washington to the 
position of United States attorney for that 
district. In 1791 he married Mrs. Rachel 
Robards, a daughter of Colonel John Don- 
elson, who was supposed at the time to 
have been divorced from her former hus- 
band that year by act of legislature of Vir- 
ginia, but two years later, on finding that 
this divorce was not legal, and a new bill of 
separation being granted by the courts of 
Kentucky, they were remarried in 1793. 
This was used as a handle by his oppo- 
nents in the political campaign afterwards. 
Jackson was untiring in his efforts as United 



States attorney and obtained much influence. 
He was chosen a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1796, when Tennessee 
became a state and was its first represent- 
ative in congress. In 1797 he was chosen 
United States senator, but resigned the fol- 
lowing year to accept a seat on the supreme 
court of Tennessee which he held until 
1804. He was elected major-general of 
the militia of that state in 1801. In 1804, 
being unsuccessful in obtaining the govern- 
orship of Louisiana, the new territory, he 
retired from public life to the Hermitage, 
his plantation. On the outbreak of the 
war with Great Britain in 1812 he tendered 
his services to the government and went to 
New Orleans with the Tennessee troops in 
January, 181 3. In March of that year he 
was ordered to disband his troops, but later 
marched against the Cherokee Indians, de- 
feating them at Talladega, Emuckfaw 
and Tallapoosa. Having now a national 
reputation, he was appointed major-general 
in the United States army and was sent 
against the British in Florida. He con- 
ducted the defence of Mobile and seized 
Pensacola. He then went with his troops 
to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he gained 
the famous victory of January 8, 181 5. In 
1817-18 he conducted a war against the 
Seminoles, and in 1821 was made governor 
of the new territory of Florida. In 1823 
he was elected United States senator, but 
in 1824 was the contestant with J. Q. Adams 
for the presidency. Four years later he 
was elected president, and served two terms. 
In 1832 he took vigorous action against the 
nullifiers of South Carolina, and the next 
year removed the public money from the 
United States bank. During his second 
term the national debt was extinguished. At 
the close of his administration he retired to 
the Hermitage, where he died June 8, 1845. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



78 



ANDREW CARNEGIE, the largest manu- 
facturer of pig-iron, steel rails and 
coke in the world, well deserves a place 
among America's celebrated men. He was 
born November 25, 1835, at Dunfermline, 
Scotland, and emigrated to the United States 
with his father in 1845, settling in Pittsburg. 
Two years later Mr. Carnegie began his 
business career by attending a small station- 
ary engine. This work did not suit him and 
he became a telegraph messenger with the 
Atlantic and Ohio Co., and later he became 
an operator, and was one of the first to read 
telegraphic signals by sound. Mr. Carnegie 
was afterward sent to the Pittsburg office 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., as clerk 
to the superintendent and manager of the 
telegraph lines. While in this position he 
made the acquaintance of Mr. Woodruff, the 
inventor of the sleeping-car. Mr. Carnegie 
immediately became interested and was one 
of the organizers of the company for its con- 
struction after the railroad had adopted it, 
and the success of this venture gave him the 
nucleus of his wealth. He was promoted 
to the superintendency of the Pittsburg 
division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and 
about this time was one of the syndicate 
that purchased the Storey farm on Oil Creek 
which cost forty thousand dollars and in one 
year it yielded over one million dollars in 
cash dividends. Mr. Carnegie later was as- 
sociated with others in establishing a rolling- 
mill, and from this has grown the most ex- 
tensive and complete system of iron and 
steel industries ever controlled by one indi- 
vidual, embracing the Edgar Thomson 
Steel Works; Pittsburg Bessemer Steel 
Works; Lucy Furnaces; Union Iron Mills; 
Union Mill; Keystone Bridge Works; Hart- 
man Steel Works; Prick Coke Co.; Scotia 
Ore Mines. Besides directing his immense 
iron industries he owned eighteen English 



newspapers which he ran in the interest of 
the Radicals. He has also devoted large 
sums of money to benevolent and educational 
purposes. In 1879 he erected commodious 
swimming baths for the people of Dunferm- 
line, Scotland, and in the following year 
gave forty thousand dollars for a free librar}'. 
Mr. Carnegie gave fifty thousand dollars to 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1884 
to found what is now called " Carnegie Lab- 
oratory, " and in 1885 gave five hundred 
thousand dollars to Pittsburg for a public 
library. He also gave two hundred and fiftj' 
thousand dollars for a music hall and library 
in Allegheny City in 1886, and two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars to Edinburgh, Scot- 
land, for a free library. He also established 
free libraries at Braddock, Pennsylvania, 
and other places for the benefit of his em- 
ployes. He also published the following 
works, "An American Four-in-hand in 
Britain;" "Round the World;" "Trium- 
phant Democracy; or Fifty Years' March of 
the Republic." 



GEORGE H. THOMAS, the " Rock of 
Chickamauga," one of the best known 
commanders during the late Civil war, was 
born in Southampton county, Virginia, July 
31, 1 8 16, his parents being of Welsh and 
French origin respectively. In 1836 young 
Thomas was appointed a cadet at the Mili- 
tary Academy, at West Point, from which 
he graduated in 1840, and was promoted to 
the office of second lieutenant in the Third 
Artillery. Shortly after, with his company, 
he went to Florida, where he served for two 
years against the Seminole Indians. In 
1 84 1 he was brevetted first lieutenant for 
gallant conduct. He remained in garrison 
in the south and southwest until 1845, at 
which date with the regiment he joined the 
army under General Taylor, and participat 



74 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH2'. 



ed in the defense of Fort Brown, the storm- 
ing of Monterey and the battle of Buena 
Vista. After the latter event he remained 
in garrison, now brevetted major, until the 
close of the Mexican war. After a year 
spent in Florida. Captain Thomas was or- 
dered to West Point, where he served as in- 
structor until 1854. He then was trans- 
ferred to California. In May, 1855, Thom- 
as was appointed major of the Second Cav- 
alry, with whom he spent five years inTe.xas. 
Although a southern man, and surrounded 
by brother officers who all were afterwards 
in the Confederate service, Major Thomas 
never swerved from his allegiance to the 
government. A. S. Johnston was the col- 
onel of the regiment, R. E. Lee the lieuten- 
ant-colonel, and W. J. Hardee, senior ma- 
jor, while among the younger officers were 
Hood, Fitz Hugh Lee, Van Dorn and Kirby 
Smith. When these officers left the regi- 
ment to take up arms for the Confederate 
cause he remained with it, and April 17th, 
1 86 1, crossed the Potomac into his native 
state, at its head. After taking an active part 
in the opening scenes of the war on the Poto- 
mac and Shenandoah, in August, 1861, he 
was promoted to be brigadier-general and 
transferred to the Army of the Cumberland. 
January 19—20, 1862, Thomas defeated 
Crittenden at Mill Springs, and this brought 
him into notice and laid the foundation of 
his fame. He continued in command of his 
division until September 20, 1862, except 
during the Corinth campaign when he com- 
manded the right wing of the Army of the 
Tennessee. He was in command of the 
latter at the battle of Perryville, also, Octo- 
ber 8, 1862. 

On the division of the Army of the Cum- 
berland into corps, January 9, 1863, Gen- 
eral Thomas was assigned to the command 
of the Fourteenth, and at the battle of Chick- 



amauga, after the retreat of Rosecrans, 
firmly held his own against the hosts of Gen- 
eral Bragg. A history of his services from 
that on would be a history of the war in the 
southwest. On September 27, 1864, Gen- 
eral Thomas was given command in Ten- 
nessee, and after organizing his army, de- 
feated General Hood in the battle of Nash- 
ville, December 15 and 16, 1864. Much 
complaint was made before this on account 
of what they termed Thomas' slowness, and 
he was about to be superseded because he 
would not strike until he got ready, but 
when the blow was struck General Grant 
was the first to place on record this vindica- 
tion of Thomas' judgment. He received a 
vote of thanks from Congress, and from the 
legislature of Tennessee a gold medal. Af- 
ter the close of the war General Thomas 
had command of several of the military di- 
visions, and died at San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia, March 28, 1870. 



GEORGE BANCROFT, one of the most 
eminent American historians, was a 
nativeof Massachusetts, born at Worcester, 
October 3, 1800, and a son of Aaron 
Bancroft, D. D. The father, Aaron Ban- 
croft, was born at Reading, Massachusetts,- 
November 10, 1755. He graduated at 
Harvard in 1778, became a minister, and for 
half a century was rated as one of the ablest 
preachers in New England. He was also a 
prolific writer and published a number of 
works among which was " Life of George 
Washington." Aaron Bancroft died August 

19. 1839- 

The subject of our present biography, 
George Bancroft, graduated at Harvard in 
1817, and the following year entered the 
University of Gottingen, where he studied 
history and philology under the most emi- 
nent teachers, and in 1820 received the de- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPin'. 



75 



gree of doctor of philosophy at Gottingen. 
Upon his return home he published a volume 
of poems, and later a translation of Heeren's 
" Reflections on the Politics of Ancient 
Greece." In 1834 he produced the first 
volume of his "History of the United 
States," this being followed by other vol- 
umes at different intervals later. This was 
bis greatest work and ranks as the highest 
authority, taking its place among the great- 
est of American productions. 

George Bancroft was appointed secretary 
of the navy by President Polk in 1845, but 
resigned in 1846 and became minister pleni- 
potentiary to England. In 1849 he retired 
from public life and took up his residence at 
Washington, D. C. In 1867 he was ap- 
pointed United States minister to the court of 
Berlin and negotiated the treaty by which Ger- 
mans coming to the United States were re- 
leased from their allegiance to the govern- 
ment of their native land. In 1871 he was 
minister plenipotentiary to the German em- 
pire and served until 1874. The death of 
George Bancroft occurred January 17, 1891. 



GEORGE GORDON MEADE, a fa- 
mous Union general, was born at 
Cadiz, Spain, December 30, 181 5, his father 
being United States naval agent at that 
port. After receiving a good education he 
entered the West Point Military Academy 
in 1 83 1. From here he was graduated 
June 30, 1835, and received the rank of 
second lieutenant of artillery. He par- 
ticipated in the Seminole war, but resigned 
from the army in October, 1836. He en- 
tered upon the profession of civil engineer, 
which he followed for several years, part of 
the time in the service of the government in 
making surveys of the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi river. His report and results of some 
experiments made by him in this service 



gained Meade much credit. He also was 
employed in surveying the boundary line of 
Texas and the northeastern boundary line 
between the United States and Canada. 
In 1842 he was reappointed in the army to 
the position of second lieutenant of engineers. 
During the Mexican war he served with dis- 
tinction on the staff of General Taylor in 
the battles of Palo Alto. Resaca de la Palma 
and the storming of Monterey. He received 
his brevet of first lieutenant for the latter 
action. In 1851 he was made full first 
lieutenant in his corps; a captain in 1856, 
and major soon after. At the close of the 
war with Mexico he was employed in light- 
house construction and in geodetic surveys 
until the breaking out of the Rebellion, in 
which he gained great reputation. In 
August, 1 86 1, he was made brigadier-general 
of volunteers and placed in command of the 
second brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves, 
a division of the First Corps in the Army of 
the Potomac. In the campaign of 1862, 
under McClellan, Meade took an active 
part, being present at the battles of Mechan- 
icsville, Gaines' Mill and Glendale, in the 
latter of which he was severely wounded. 
On rejoining his command he was given a 
division and distinguished himself at its head 
in the battles of South Mountain and Antie- 
tam. During the latter, on the wounding 
of General Hooker, Meade was placed in 
command of the corps and was himself 
slightly wounded. For services he was 
promoted, November, 1862, to the rank 
of major-general of volunteers. On the 
recovery of General Hooker General Meade 
returned to his division and in December, 
1862, at Fredericksburg, led an attack 
which penetrated Lee's right line and swept 
to his rear. Being outnumbered and un- 
supported, he finally was driven back. The 
same month Meade was assigned to the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



command of the Fifth Corps, and at Chan- 
cellorsville in May, 1863, his sagacity and 
ability so struck General Hooker that when 
the latter asked to be relieved of the com- 
mand, in June of the same year, he nomi- 
nated Meade as his successor. June 28, 
1863, President Lincoln commissioned Gen- 
eral Meade commander-in-chief of the Army 
of the Potomac, then scattered and moving 
hastily through Pennsylvania to the great 
and decisive battlefield at Gettysburg, at 
which he was in full command. With the 
victory on those July days the name of 
Meade will ever be associated. From that 
time until the close of the war he com- 
manded the Army of the Potomac. In 
1864 General Grant, being placed at the 
head of all the armies, took up his quarters 
with the Army of the Potomac. From that 
time until the surrender of Lee at Appo- 
matox Meade's ability shone conspicuously, 
and his tact in the delicate position in lead- 
ing his army under the eye of his superior 
officer commanded the respect and esteem 
of General Grant. For services Meade was 
promoted to the rank of major-general, and 
on the close of hostilities, in July, 1S65, 
was assigned to the command of the military 
division of the Atlantic, with headquarters 
at Philadelphia. This post he held, with 
the exception of a short period on detached 
duty in Georgia, until his death, which took 
place November 6, 1872. 



DAVID CROCKETT was a noted hunter 
and scout, and also one of the earliest 
of American humorists. He was born Au- 
gust 17, 1786, in Tennessee, and was one 
of the most prominent men of his locality, 
serving as representative in congress from 
1827 until 1 83 1. He attracted consider- 
able notice while a member of congress and 
was closely associated with General Jack- 



son, of whom he was a personal friend. He 
went to Texas and enlisted in the Texan 
army at the time of the revolt of Texas 
against Mexico and gained a wide reputa- 
tion as a scout. He was one of the famous 
one hundred and forty men under Colonel 
W. B. Travis who were besieged in Fort 
Alamo, near San Antonio, Texas, by Gen- 
eral Santa Anna with some five thousand 
Mexicans on February 23, 1836. The fort 
was defended for ten days, frequent assaults 
being repelled with great slaughter, over 
one thousand Mexicans being killed or 
wounded, while not a man in the fort was 
injured. Finally, on March 6, three as- 
saults were made, and in the hand-to-hand 
fight that followed the last, the Texans were 
wofully outnumbered and overpowered. 
They fought desperately with clubbed mus- 
kets till only six were left alive, including 
W. B. Travis, David Crockett and James 
Bowie. These surrendered under promise 
of protection; but when they were brought 
before Santa Anna he ordered them all to 
be cut to pieces. 



HENRY WATTERSON, one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the history of 
American journalism, was born at Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia, February 16, 
1 840. His boyhood days were mostly spent 
in the city of his birth, where his father, 
Harvey M. Watterson, was editor of the 
"Union," a well known journal. 

Owing to a weakness of the eyes, which 
interfered with a systematic course of study, 
young Watterson was educated almost en- 
tirely at home. A successful college career 
was out of the question, but he acquired a 
good knowledge of music, literature and art 
from private tutors, but the most valuable 
part of the training he received was by as- 
sociating with his father and the throng of 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



public men whom he met in Washington 
in the stirring days immediately preceding 
the Civil war. He began his journalistic 
career at an early age as dramatic and 
musical critic, and in 1858, became editor 
of the "Democratic Review" and at the 
same time contributed to the "States," 
a journal of hberal opinions published in 
Washington. In this he remained until 
the breaking out of the war, when the 
"States," opposing the administration, was 
suppressed, and young Watterson removed 
to Tennessee. He next appears as editor 
of the Nashville "Republican Banner," the 
most influential paper in the state at that 
time. After the occupation of Nashville by 
the Federal troops, Watterson served as a 
volunteer staff officer in the Confederate 
service until the close of the war, with the 
exception of a year spent in editing the 
Chattanooga "Rebel." On the close of 
the war he returned to Nashville and re- 
sumed his connection with the "Banner." 
After a trip to Europe he assumed control 
of the Louisville "Journal," which he soon 
combined with the "Courier" and the 
"Democrat" of that place, founding the 
well-known "Courier-Journal," the first 
number of which appeared November 8, 
1868. Mr. Watterson also represented his 
district in congress for several years. 



PATRICK SARSFIELD GILMORE. 
one of the most successful and widely 
known bandmasters and musicians of the 
last half century in America, was born in 
Ballygar, Ireland, on Christmas day, 1829. 
He attended a public school until appren- 
ticed to a wholesale merchant at Athlone, 
of the brass band of which town he soon 
became a member. His passion for music 
conflicting with the duties of a mercantile 
life, his position as clerk was exchanged for 



that of musical instructor to the young sons 
of his employer. At the age of nineteen he 
sailed for America and two days after his 
arrival in Boston was put in charge of the 
band instrument department of a prominent 
music house. In the interests of the pub- 
lications of this house he organized a minstrel 
company known as " Ord way's Eolians," 
with which he first achieved success as a 
cornet soloist. Later on he was called the 
best E-flat cornetist in the United States. 
He became leader, successively, of the Suf- 
folk, Boston Brigade and Salem bands. 
During his connection with the latter he 
inaugurated the famous Fourth of July con- 
certs on Boston Common, since adopted as 
a regular programme for the celebration of 
Independence Day. In 1858 Mr. Gilmore 
founded the organization famous thereafter 
as Gilmore's Band. At the outbreak of the 
Civil war this band was attached to the 
Twenty-Fourth .Massachusetts Infantry. 
Later, when the economical policy of dis- 
pensing with music had proved a mistake, 
Gilmore was entrusted with the re-organiza- 
tion of state military bands, and upon his 
arrival at New Orleans with his own band 
was made bandmaster-general by General 
Banks. On the inauguration of Governor 
Hahn, later on, in Lafayette square, New 
Orleans, ten thousand children, mostly of 
Confederate parents, rose to the baton of 
Gilmore and, accompanied by six hundred 
instruments, thirty-six guns and the united 
fire of three regiments of infantry, sang the 
Star-Spangled Banner, America and othe'' 
patriotic Union airs. In June, 1867, Mr. 
Gilmore conceived a national musical festi- 
val, which was denounced as a chimeric&l 
undertaking, but he succeeded and June 15. 
1869, stepped upon the stage of the Boston 
Colosseum, a vast structure erected for the 
occasion, and in the presence of over fifty 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



thousand people lifted his baton over an 
orchestra of one thousand and a chorus of 
ten thousand. On the 17th of June, 1872, 
he opened a still greater festival in Boston, 
when, in addition to an orchestra of two 
thousand and a chorus of twenty thousand, 
were present the Band of the Grenadier 
Guards, of London, of the Garde R'epub- 
licaine, of Paris, of Kaiser Franz, of Berlin, 
and one from Dublin, Ireland, together with 
Johann Strauss, Franz Abt and many other 
soloists, vocal and instrumental. Gilmore's 
death occurred September 24, 1892. 

MARTIN VAN BUREN was the eighth 
president of the United States, 1837 
to 1 84 1. He was of Dutch extraction, and 
his ancestors were among the earliest set- 
tlers on the banks of the Hudson. He was 
born December 5, 1782, at Kinderhook, 
New York. Mr. Van Buren took up the 
study of law at the age of fourteen and took 
an active part in political matters before he 
had attained his majority. He commenced 
the practice of law in 1803 at his native 
town, and in 1809 he removed to Hudson, 
Columbia county. New York, where he 
spent seven years gaining strength and wis- 
dom from his contentions at the bar with 
some of the ablest men of the profession. 
Mr. Van Buren was elected to the state 
senate, and from 18 15 until 18 19 he was at- 
torney-general of the state. He was re- 
elected to the senate in 18 16, and in 18 18 
he was one of the famous clique of politi- 
cians known as the "Albany regency." 
Mr. Van Buren was a member of the con- 
vention for the revision of the state consti- 
tution, in 1821. In the same year he was 
elected to the United States senate and 
served his term in a manner that caused his 
re-election to that body in 1827, but re- 
signed the following year as he had been 



elected governor of New York. Mr. Van 
Buren was appointed by President Jackson as 
secretary ofstatein March, 1829, but resigned 
in 1 83 1, and during the recess of congress, 
he was appointed minister to England. 
The senate, however, when it convened in 
December refused to ratify the appointment. 
In May, 1832, he was nominated by the 
Democrats as their candidate for vice-presi- 
dent on the ticket with Andrew Jackson, 
and he was elected in the following Novem- 
ber. He received the nomination to suc- 
ceed President Jackson in 1836, as the 
Democratic candidate, and in the electoral 
college he received one hundred and seventy 
votes out of two hundred and eighty-three, 
and was inaugurated March 4, 1837. His 
administration was begun at a time of great 
business depression, and unparalled financial 
distress, which caused the suspension of 
specie payments by the banks. Nearly 
every bank in the country was forced to 
suspend specie payment, and no less than 
two hundred and fifty-four business houses 
failed in New York in one week. The 
President urged the adoption of the inde- 
pendent treasury idea, which passed through 
the senate twice but each time it was de- 
feated in the house. However the measure 
ultimately became a law near the close of 
President Van Buren's term of office. An- 
other important measure that was passed 
was the pre-emption law that gave the act- 
ual settlers preference in the purchase of 
public lands. The question of slavery had 
begun to assume great preponderance dur- 
ing this administration, and a great conflict 
was tided over by the passage of a resolu- 
tion that prohibited petitions or papers that 
in any way related to slavery to be acted 
upon. In the Democratic convention of 
1840 President Van Buren secured the 
nomination for re-election on that ticket 



COMrEXDIC.V OF BIOGRAPIIT. 



without opposition, but in the election he 
only received the votes of seven states, his 
opponent, ^^^ H. Harrison, being elected 
president. In 1848 Mr. Van Buren was 
the candidate of the " Free-Soilers," but 
was unsuccessful. After this he retired 
from public life and spent the remainder of 
his life on his estate at Kinderhook, where 
he died July 24, 1862. 



W INFIELD SCOTT, a distinguished 
American general, was born June 13, 
1786, near Petersburg, Dinwiddie county, 
Virginia, and was educated at the William 
and Mary College. He studied law and was 
admitted to the bar, and in 1808 he accepted 
an appointment as captain of light artillery, 
and was ordered to New Orleans. In June, 

1 81 2, he was promoted to be lieutenant- 
colonel, and on application was sent to the 
frontier, and reported to General Smyth, 
near Buffalo. He was made adjutant-gen- 
eral with the rank of a colonel, in March, 

1 8 1 3, and the same month attained the colo- 
nelcy of his regiment. He participated in 
the principal battles of the war and was 
wounded many times, and at the close of 
the war he was voted a gold medal by con- 
gress for his services. He was a writer of 
considerable merit on military topics, and 
he gave to the military science, "General 
Regulations of the Army " and " System of 
Infantry and Rifle Practice. " He took a 
prominent part in the Black Hawk war, 
and at the beginning of the Mexican war he 
was appointed to take the command of the 
army. Gen. Scott immediately assembled 
his troops at Lobos Island from which he 
moved by transports to Vera Cruz, which 
he took March 29, 1847, and rapidly fol- 
lowed up his first success. He fought the 
battles of Cerro Gordo and Jalapa, both of 
which he won, and proceeded to Pueblo 



where he was preceded by Worth's division 
which had taken the town and waited for the 
coming of Scott. The army was forced to 
wait here for supplies, and August 7th, 
General Scott started on his victorious 
march to the city of Mexico with ten thou- 
sand, seven hundred and thirty-eight men. 
The battles of Contreras, Cherubusco and 
San Antonio were fought August 19-20, 
and on the 24th an armistice was agreed 
upon, but as the commissioners could not 
agree on the terms of settlement, the fight- 
ing was renewed at Molino Del Rey, and 
the Heights of Chapultepec were carried 
by the victorious army of General Scott. 
He gave the enemy no respite, however, 
and vigorously followed up his advantages. 
On September 14, he entered the City of 
Mexico and dictated the terms of surrender 
in the very heart of the Mexican Republic. 
General Scott was offered the presidency of 
the Mexican Republic, but declined. Con- 
gress extended him a vote of thanks and 
ordered a gold medal be struck in honor of 
his generalship and bravery. He was can- 
didate for the presidency on the Whig plat- 
form but was defeated. He was honored by 
having the title of lieutenant-general con- 
ferred upon him in 1 8 5 5 . At the beginning of 
the Civil war he was too infirm to take charge 
of the army, but did signal service in be- 
half of the government. He retired from 
the service November i, 1861, and in 1864 
he published his "Autobiography." Gen- 
eral Scott died at West Point, May 29, 1866 



EDWARD EVERETT HALE for many 
years occupied a high place among the 
most honored of America's citizens. As 
a preacher he ranks among the foremost 
in the New England states, but to the gen- 
eral public he is best known through his 
writings. Born in Boston, Mass., April 3, 



so 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHl'. 



1S22, a descendant of one of the most 
prominent New England families, he enjoyed 
in his youth many of the advantages denied 
the majority of boys. He received his pre- 
paratory schooling at the Boston Latin 
School, after which he finished his studies at 
Harvard where he was graduated with high 
honors in 1839. Having studied theology 
at home, Mr. Hale embraced the ministry 
and in 1846 became pastor of a Unitarian 
church in Worcester, Massachusetts, a post 
which he occupied about ten years. He 
then, in 1856, became pastor of the South 
Congregational church in Boston, over which 
he presided many years. 

Mr. Hale also found time to write a 
great many literary works of a high class. 
,\mong many other well-known productions 
7f his are " The Rosary," " Margaret Per- 
:ival in America." "Sketches of Christian 
iistory," "Kansas and Nebraska," "Let- 
ters on Irish Emigration," " Ninety Days' 
Worth of Europe," " If , Yes, and Perhaps," 
"Ingham Papers," "Reformation," "Level 
3est and Other Stories, " ' ' Ups and Downs, " 
"Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," " In 
His Name," "Our New Crusade," "Work- 
ingmen's Homes," " Boys' Heroes," etc., 
etc., besides many others which might be 
mentioned. One of his works, "In His 
Name," has earned itself enduring fame by 
the good deeds it has called forth. The 
numerous associations known as ' 'The King's 
Daughters," which has accomplished much 
good, owe their existence to the story men- 
tioned. 



DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT stands 
pre-eminent as one of the greatest na- 
val officers of the world. He was born at 
Campbell's Station, East Tennessee, July 
5, 1 801, and entered the navy of the United 
States as a midshipman. He had the good 



fortune to serve under Captain David Por- 
ter, who commanded the " Essex," and by 
whom he was taught the ideas of devotion 
to duty from which he never swerved dur- 
ing all his career. In 1823 Mr. Farragut 
took part in a severe fight, the result of 
which was the suppression of piracy in the 
West Indies. He then entered upon the 
regular duties of his profession which was 
only broken into by a year's residence with 
Charles Folsom, our consul at Tunis, who 
was afterwards a distinguished professor at 
Harvard. Mr. Farragut was one of the best 
linguists in the navy. He had risen through 
the different grades of the service until the 
war of 1861-65 found him a captain resid- 
ing at Norfolk, Virginia. He removed with 
his family to Hastings, on the Hudson, and 
hastened to offer his services to the Federal 
government, and as the capture of New 
Orleans had been resolved upon, Farragut 
was chosen to command the expedition. 
His force consisted of the West Gulf block- 
ading squadron and Porter's mortar flotilla. 
In January, 1862, he hoisted his pennant at 
the mizzen peak of the "Hartford" at 
Hampton roads, set sail from thence on the 
3rd of February and reached Ship Island on 
the 20th of the same month. A council of 
war was held on the 20th of April, in which 
it was decided that whatever was to be done 
must be done quickly. The signal was made 
from the flagship and accordingly the fleet 
weighed anchor at 1:55 on the morning of 
April 24th, and at 3:30 the whole force was 
under way. The history of this brilliant strug- 
gle is well known, and the glory of it made Far- 
ragut a hero and also made him rear admir- 
al. In the summer of 1 862 he ran the batteries 
at Vicksburg, and on March 14, 1863, he 
passed through the fearful and destructive 
fire from Port Hudson, and opened up com- 
munication with Flag-officer Porter, who 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



had control of the upper Mississippi. On 
May 24th he commenced active operations 
aj,'ainst that fort in conjunction with the army 
and it fell on July 9th. Mr. Farragut filled 
the measure of his fame on the 5th of Au- 
gust, 1864, by his great victory, the capture 
of Mobile Bay and the destruction of the 
Confederate fleet, including the formidable 
ram Tennessee. For this victory the rank 
of admiral was given to Mr. Farragut. He 
died at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Au- 
gust 4, 1870. 

GEORGE W. CHILDS. a philanthropist 
whose remarkable personality stood 
for the best and highest type of American 
citizenship, and whose whole life was an 
object lesson in noble living, was born in 
1829 at Baltimore, Maryland, of humble 
]iarents, and spent his early life in unremit- 
ting toil. He was a self-made man in the 
fullest sense of the word, and gained his 
great wealth by his own efforts. He was a 
man of very great influence, and this, in 
conjunction with his wealth, would have 
been, in the hands of other men, a means of 
getting them political preferment, but Mr. 
Childs steadily declined any suggestions that 
would bring him to figure prominently in 
public affairs. He did not choose to found 
a financial dynasty, but devoted all his 
powers to the helping of others, with the 
most enlightened beneficence and broadest 
sympathy. Mr. Childs once remarked that 
his greatest pleasure in life was in doing 
good to others. He always despised mean- 
ness, and one of his objects of life was to 
prove that a man could be liberal and suc- 
cessful at the same time. Upon these lines 
Mr. Childs made a name for himself as the 
director of one of the representative news- 
papers of America, "The Philadelphia Pub- 
lic Ledger," which was owned jointly by 



himself and the Drexel estate, and which he 
edited for thirty years. He acquired con- 
trol of the paper at a time when it was be- 
ing published at a heavy loss, set it upon a 
firm basis of prosperity, and he made it 
more than a money- making machine — he 
made it respected as an exponent of the 
best side of journalism, and it stands as a 
monument to his sound judgment and up- 
right business principles. Mr. Childs' char- 
itable repute brought him many applications 
for assistance, and he never refused to help 
any one that was deserving of aid; and not 
only did he help those who asked, but he 
would by careful inquiry find those who 
needed aid but were too proud to solicit it. 
He was a considerable employer of labor 
and his liberality was almost unparalleled. 
The death of this great and good man oc- 
curred February 3d, 1894. 

PATRICK HENRY won his way to un- 
dying fame in the annals of the early 
history of the United States by introducing 
into the house of burgesses his famous reso- 
lution against the Stamp Act, which he car- 
ried through, after a stormy debate, by a 
majority of one. At this time he exclaimed 
" Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Crom- 
well and George HI " (here he was inter- 
rupted by cries of " treason ") " may profit 
by their example. If this be treason make 
the most of it." 

Patrick Henry was born at Studley, 
Hanover county, Virginia, May 29, 1736, 
and was a son of Colonel John Henry, a 
magistrate and school teacher of Aberdeen, 
Scotland, and a nephew of Robertson, the 
historian. He received his education from 
his father, and was married at the age of 
eighteen. He was twice bankrupted before 
he had reached his twenty-fourth year, when 
after six weeks of study he was admitted to 



84 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



the bar. He worked for three years with- 
out a case and finally was applauded for his 
plea lor the people's rights and gained im- 
mense popularity. After his famous Stamp 
Act resolution he was the leader of the pa- 
triots in Virginia. In 1769 he was admitted 
to practice in the general courts and speed- 
ily won a fortune by his distinguished ability 
as a speaker. He was the first speaker of 
the General Congress at Philadelphia in 
1774. He was for a time a colonel of 
militiain 1775, and from 1776 to 1779 and 
1 78 1 to 1786 he was governor of Virginia. 
For a number of years he retired from pub- 
lic life and was tendered and declined a 
number of important political offices, and in 
March, 1789, he was elected state senator 
but aid not take his seat on account of his 
death which occurred at Red Hill, Charlotte 
county, Virginia, June 6, 1799. 

BENEDICT ARNOLD, an American 
general and traitor of the Revolution- 
ary war, is one of the noted characters in 
Amei'ican history. He was born in Nor- 
wich, Connecticut, January 3, 1740. He 
ran away and enlisted in the army when 
young, but deserted in a short time. He 
then became a merchant at New Haven, 
Connecticut, but failed. In 1775 ^^ was 
commissioned colonel in the Massachusetts 
militia, and in the autumn of that year was 
placed in command of one thousand men 
for the invasion of Canada. He marched 
his army through the forests of Maine and 
joined General Montgomery before Quebec. 
Their combined forces attacked that city on 
December 31, 1775, and Montgomery was 
killed, and Arnold, severely wounded, was 
compelled to retreat and endure a rigorous 
winter a few miles from the city, where they 
were at the mercy of the Canadian troops 
had they cared to attack them. On his re- 



turn he was raised to the rank of brigadier- 
general. He was given command of a small 
flotilla on Lake Champlain, with which he 
encountered an immense force, and though 
defeated, performed many deeds of valor. 
He resented the action of congress in pro- 
moting a number of his fellow officers and 
neglecting himself. In 1777 he was made 
major-general, and under General Gates at 
Bemis Heights fought valiantly. For some 
reason General Gates found fault with his 
conduct and ordered him under arrest, and 
he was kept in his tent until the battle of 
Stillwater was waxing hot, when Arnold 
mounted his horse and rode to the front of 
his old troop, gave command to charge, and 
rode like a mad man into the thickest of 
the fight and was not overtaken by Gates' 
courier until he had routed the enemy and 
fell wounded. Upon his recovery he was 
made general, and was placed in command 
at Philadelphia. Here he married, and his 
acts of rapacity soon resulted in a court- 
martial. He was sentenced to be repri- 
manded by the commander-in-chief, and 
though Washington performed this duty 
with utmost delicacy and consideration, it 
was never forgiven. Arnold obtained com- 
mand at West Point, the most important 
post held by the Americans, in 1780, and 
immediately offered to surrender it to Sir 
Henry Clinton, British commander at New 
York. Major Andre was sent to arrange 
details with Arnold, but on his return trip 
to New York he was captured by Americans, 
the plot was detected, and Andre suffered 
the death penalty as a spy. Arnold es- 
caped, and was paid about $40,000 by the 
British for his treason and was made briga- 
dier-general. He afterward commanded an 
expedition that plundered a portion of Vir- 
ginia, and another that burned New Lon- 
don, Connecticut, and captured Fort Trum- 



coMrEXDiiM or BlOGRAriir. 



86 



bull, the commandant of which Arnold mur- 
dered with the sword he had just surren- 
dered. He passed the latter part of his life 
in Enj^land, universally despised, and died 
in London June 14, 1801. 



ROBERT G. INGERSOLL, one of the 
most brilliant orators that America has 
produced, also a lawyer of considerable 
merit, won most of his fame as a lecturer. 
Mr. Ingersoll was born August 24, 1833, 
at Dryden, Gates county. New York, and 
received his education in the common schools. 
He went west at the age of twelve, and for 
a short time he attended an academy in 
Tennessee, and also taught school in that 
state. He began the practice of law in the 
southern part of Illinois in 1854. Colonel 
Ingersoll's principal fame was made in 
the lecture room by his lectures in which he 
ridiculed religious faith and creeds and criti- 
cised the Bible and the Christian religion. 
He was the orator of the day in the Decora- 
tion Day celebration in the city of New York 
in 1882 and his oration was widely com- 
mended. He first attracted political notice 
in the convention at Cincinnati in 1876 by 
his brilliant eulogy on James G. Blaine. He 
practiced law in Peoria, Illinois, for a num- 
ber of years, but later located in the city of 
New York. He published the follow- 
ing: "The Gods and other Lectures;" "The 
Ghosts;" "Some Mistakes of Moses;" 
"What Shall I Do To Be Saved;" "Inter- 
views on Talmage and Presbyterian Cate- 
chism ;" The " North American Review 
Controversy;" "Prose Poems;" " A Vision 
of War ; ' etc. 



JOSEPH ECCLESTON JOHNSTON, 
a noted general in the Confederate army, 
was born in Prince Edward county. Virginia, 
in 1807. He graduated from West Point 



and entered the army in 1829. For a num- 
ber of years his chief service was garrison 
duty. He saw active service, however, in 
the Seminole war in Florida, part of the 
time as a staff officer of General Scott. He 
resigned his commission in 1837, but re- 
turned to the army a year later, and was 
brevetted captain for gallant services in 
Florida. He was made first lieutenant of 
topographical engineers, and was engaged 
in river and harbor improvements and also 
in the survey of the Texas boundary and 
the northern boundary of the United 
States until the beginning of the war 
with Mexico. He was at the siege of Vera 
Cruz, and at the battle of Cerro Gordo was 
wounded while reconnoitering the enemy's 
position, after which he was brevetted major 
and colonel. He was in all the battles about 
the city of Mexico, and was again wounded 
in the final assault upon that city. After 
the Mexican war closed he returned to duty 
as captain of topographical engineers, but 
in 1855 he was made lieutenant-colonel of 
cavalry and did frontier duty, and was ap- 
pointed inspector-general of the expedition 
to Utah. In i860 he was appointed quar- 
termaster-general with rank of brigadier- 
general. At the outbreak of hostilities in 
1 86 1 he resigned his commission and re- 
ceived the appointment of major-general of 
the Confederate army. He held Harper's 
Ferry, and later fought General Patterson 
about Winchester. At the battle of Bull 
Run he declined command in favor of Beau- 
regard, and acted under that general's direc- 
tions. He commanded the Confederates in 
the famous Peninsular campaign, and was 
severely wounded at Fair Oaks and was 
succeeded in command by General Lee. 
Upon his recovery he was made lieutenant- 
general and assigned to the command of the 
southwestern department. He attempted 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



to raise the siege of Vicksburg, and was 
finally defeated at Jackson, Mississippi. 
Having been made a general he succeeded 
General Bragg in command of the army of 
Tennessee and was ordered to check General 
Sherman's advance upon Atlanta. Not 
daring to risk a battle with the overwhelm- 
ing forces of Sherman, he slowly retreated 
toward Atlanta, and was relieved of com- 
mand by President Davis and succeeded by 
General Hood. Hood utterly destroyed his 
own army by three furious attacks upon 
Sherman. Johnston was restored to com- 
mand in the Carolinas, and again faced 
Sherman, but was defeated in several en- 
gagements and continued a slow retreat 
toward Richmond. Hearing of Lee's sur- 
render, he communicated with General 
Sherman, and finally surrendered his army 
at Durham, North Carolina, April 26, 1865. 
General Johnston was elected a member 
of the forty-sixth congress and was ap- 
pointed United States railroad commis- 
sioner in 1885. His death occurred March 
21, 1891. 

SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, 
known throughout the civilized world 
as "Mark Twain," is recognized as one of 
the greatest humorists America has pro- 
duced. He was born in Monroe county, 
Missouri, November 30, 1835. Hespenthis 
boyhood days in his native state and many 
of his earlier experiences are related in vari- 
ous forms in his later writings. One of his 
early acquaintances, Capt. Isaiah Sellers, 
at an early day furnished river news for the 
New Orleans " Picayune," using the noin- 
dc-plume of "Mark Twain." Sellers died 
in 1863 and Clemens took up his noni-de- 
pliiiiie and made it famous throughout the 
world by his literary work. In 1862 Mr. 
Clemens became a journalist at Virginia, 



Nevada, and afterward followed the same pro- 
fession at San Francisco and Buffalo, New 
York. He accumulated a fortune from the 
sale of his many publications, but in later 
years engaged in business enterprises, partic- 
ularly the manufacture of a typesetting ma- 
chine, which dissipated his fortune and re- 
duced him almost to poverty, but with resolute 
heart he at once again took up his pen and 
engaged in literary work in the effort to 
regain his lost ground. Among the best 
known of his works may be mentioned the fol- 
lowing: ' ' The Jumping Frog, " ' ' Tom Saw- 
yer," " Roughingit," " Innocents Abroad," 
"Huckleberry Finn," "Gilded Age," 
"Prince and Pauper," "Million Pound 
Bank Note," "A Yankee in King Arthur's 
Court," etc. 



CHRISTOPHER CARSON, better 
known as "Kit Carson;" was an Amer- 
ican trapper and scout who gained a wide 
reputation for his frontier work. He was a 
native of Kentucky, born December 24th, 
1809. He grew to manhood there, devel- 
oping a natural inclination for adventure in 
the pioneer experiences in his native state. 
When yet a young man he became quite 
well known on the frontier. He served as 
a guide to Gen. Fremont in his Rocky 
Mountain explorations and enlisted in the 
army. He was an officer in the United 
States service in both the Mexican war and 
the great Civil war, and in the latter received 
a brevet of brigadier-general for meritorious 
service. His death occurred May 23, 



JOHN SHERMAN.— Statesman, politi- 
cian, cabinet officer and senator, the name 
of the gentleman who heads this sketch is al- 
most a household word throughout this 
country. Identified with some of the most 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



87 



important measures adopted by our Govern- 
ment since the close of the Civil war, he may 
well be called one of the leading men of his 
day. 

John Sherman was born at Lancaster, 
Fairfield county, Ohio, May loth, 1823, 
the son of Charles R. Sherman, an emi- 
nent lawyer and judge of the supreme court 
of Ohio and who died in 1829. The subject 
of this article received an academic educa- 
tion and was admitted to the bar in 1844. 
In the Whig conventions of 1844 and 1848 
he sat as a delegate. He was a member of 
the National house of representatives, 
from 1855 to 1861. In i860 he was re- 
elected to the same position but was chosen 
United States senator before he took his 
seat in the lower house. He was re-elected 
senator in 1866 and 1872 and was long 
chairman of the committee on finance and 
on agriculture. He took a prominent part 
in debates on finance and on the conduct of 
the war, and was one of the authors of the 
reconstruction measures in 1 866 and 1867, 
and was appointed secretary of the treas- 
ury March 7th, 1877. 

Mr. Sherman was re-elected United States 
senator from Ohio January i8th, 1881, and 
again in 1886 and 1892, during which time 
he was regarded as one of the most promi- 
nent leaders of the Republican party, both 
in the senate and in the country. He was 
several times the favorite of his state for the 
nomination for president. 

On the formation of his cabinet in March, 
1897, President McKinley tendered the posi- 
tion of secretary of state to Mr. Sherman, 
which was accepted. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, ninth 
president of the United States, was 
born in Charles county, Virginia, February 
9, 1773, the son of Governor Benjamin 



Harrison. He took a course in Hampden- 
Sidney College with a view to the practice 
of medicine, and then went to Philadelphia 
to study under Dr. Rush, but in 1791 he 
entered the army, and obtained the commis- 
sion of ensign, was soon promoted to the 
lieutenancy, and was with General Wayne 
in his war against the Indians. For his 
valuable service he was promoted to the 
rank of captain and given command of Fort 
Washington, now Cincinnati. He was ap- 
pointed secretary of the Northwest Territory 
in 1797, and in 1799 became its representa- 
tive in congress. In 1801 he was appointed 
governor of Indiana Territory, and held the 
position for twelve years, during which time 
he negotiated important treaties with the In- 
dians, causing them to relinquish millions of 
acres of land, and also won the battle of 
Tippecanoe in 181 1. He succeeded in 
obtaining a change in the law which did not 
permit purchase of public lands in less tracts 
than four thousand acres, reducing the limit 
to three hundred and twenty acres. He 
became major-general of , Kentucky militia 
and brigadier-general in the United States 
army in 181 2, and won great renown in 
the defense of Fort Meigs, and his victory 
over the British and Indians under Proctor 
and Tecumseh at the Thames river, October 
5. 1813- 

In 1 8 16 General Harrison was elected to 
congress from Ohio, and during the canvass 
was accused of corrupt methods in regard to 
the commissariat of the army. He demanded 
an investigation after the election and was 
exonerated. In 1819 he was elected to 
the Ohio state senate, and in 1824 he gave 
his vote as a presidential elector to Henry 
Clay. He became a member of the United 
States senate the same year. During the 
last year of Adams' administration he was 
sent as minister to Colombia, but was re- 



88 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



called by President Jackson the following 
year. He then retired to his estate at North 
Bend, Ohio, a few miles below Cincinnati. In 
1836 he was a candidate for the presidency, 
but as there were three other candidates 
the votes were divided, he receiving seventy- 
three electoral votes, a majority going to 
Mr. Van Buren, the Democratic candidate. 
Four years later General Harrison was again 
nominated by the Whigs, and elected by a 
tremendous majority. The campaign was 
noted for its novel features, many of which 
have found a permanent place in subsequent 
campaigns. Those peculiar to that cam- 
paign, however, were the " log-cabin " and 
" hard cider" watchwords, which produced 
great enthusiasm among his followers. One 
month after his inauguration he died from 
an attack of pleurisy, April 4, 1841. 



CHARLES A. DANA, the well-known 
and widely-read journalist of New York 
City, a native of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, 
was born August 8, 18 19. He received 
the elements of a good education in his 
youth and studied for two years at Harvard 
University. Owing to some disease of the 
eyes he was unable to complete his course 
and graduate, but was granted the degree of 
A. M. notwithstanding. For some time he 
was editor of the " Harbinger," and was a 
regular contributor to the Boston " Chrono- 
type." In 1847 he became connected with 
the New York " Tribune, "and continued on 
the staff of that journal until 1858. In the 
latter year he edited and compiled "The 
Household Book of Poetry," and later, in 
connection with George Ripley, edited the 
"New American Cyclopaedia." 

Mr. Dana, on severing his connection 
with the " Tribune " in 1867, became editor 
of the New York "Sun," a paper with 
which he was identified for many years, and 



which he made one of the leaders of thought 
in the eastern part of the United States. 
He wielded a forceful pen and fearlessly 
attacked whatever was corrupt and unworthy 
in politics, state or national. The same 
year, 1867, Mr. Dana organized the New 
York "Sun" Company. 

During the troublous days of the war, 
when the fate of the Nation depended upon 
the armies in the field, Mr. Dana accepted 
the arduous and responsible position of 
assistant secretary of war, and held the 
position during the greater part of 1863 
and 1864. He died October 17, 1897. 



ASA GRAY was recognized throughout the 
scientific world as one of the ablest 
and most eminent of botanists. He was 
born at Paris, Oneida county, New York, 
November 18, 1810. He received his medi- 
cal degree at the Fairfield College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons, in Herkimer county, 
New York, and studied botany with the late 
Professor Torrey, of New York. He was 
appointed botanist to the Wilkes expedition 
in 1834, but declined the offer and became 
professor of natural history in Harvard Uni- 
versity in 1842. He retired from the active 
duties of this post in 1873, and in 1874 he 
was the regent of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion at Washington, District of Columbia. 
Dr. Gray wrote several books on the sub- 
ject of the many sciences of which he was 
master. In 1836 he published his "Ele- 
ments of Botany," "Manual of Botany" in 
1848; the unfinished "Flora of North 
America," by himself and Dr. Torrey, the 
publication of which commenced in 1838. 
There is another of his unfinished works 
called "Genera Boreali-Americana," pub- 
lished in 1848, and the "Botany of the 
United States Pacific Exploring Expedition 
in 1854. " He wrote many elaborate papers 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



89 



on the botany of the west and southwest 
that were pubUshed in the Smithsonian Con- 
tributions, Memoirs, etc., of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which in- 
stitution he was president for ten years. 
He was also the author of many of the 
government reports. " How Plants Grow," 
" Lessons in Botany," " Structural and Sys- 
tematic Botany," are also works from his 
ready pen. 

Dr. Gray published in 1861 his "Free 
Examination of Darwin's Treatise " and his 
" Darwiniana," in 1876. Mr. Gray was 
elected July 29, 1878, to a membership in 
the Institute of France, Academy of Sciences. 
His death occurred at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, January 30, 1889. 



WILLIAM MAXWELL EVARTS was 
one of the greatest leaders of the 
American bar. He was born in Boston, 
Massachusetts, February 6, 18 18, and grad- 
uated from Yale College in 1837. He took 
up the study of law, which he practiced in 
the city of New York and won great renown 
as an orator and advocate. He affiliated 
with the Republican party, which he joined 
soon after its organization. He was the 
leading counsel employed for the defense of 
President Johnson in his trial for impeach- 
ment before the senate in April and May of 
1868. 

In July, 1868, Mr. Evarts was appointed 
attorney-general of the United States, and 
served until March 4, 1869. • He was one 
of the three lawyers who were selected by 
President Grant in 1871 to defend the inter- 
ests of the citizens of the United States be- 
fore the tribunal of arbitration which met 
at Geneva in Switzerland to settle the con- 
troversy over the " Alabama Claims." 

He was one of the most eloquent advo- 
cates in the United States, and many of his 



public addresses have been preserved and 
published. He was appointed secretary of 
state March 7, 1877, by President Hayes, 
and served during the Hayes administration. 
He was elected senator from the state of 
New York January 21, 1885, and at once 
took rank among the ablest statesmen in 
Congress, and the prominent part he took 
in the discussion of public questions gave 
him a national reputation. 



JOHN WANAMAKER.— The life of this 
great merchant demonstrates the fact 
that the great secret of rising from the ranks 
is, to-day, as in the past ages, not so much the 
ability to make money, as to save it, or in 
other words, the ability to live well within 
one's income. Mr. Wanamaker was born in 
Philadelphia in 1838. He started out in 
life working in a brickyard for a mere pit- 
tance, and left that position to work in a 
book store as a clerk, where he earned 
the sum of $5.00 per month, and later on 
was in the employ of a clothier where he 
received twenty-five cents a week more. 
He was only fifteen years of age at that 
time, but was a " money-getter " by instinct, 
and laid by a small sum for a possible rainy 
day. By strict attention to business, com- 
bined with natural ability, he was promoted 
many times, and at the age of twenty he 
had saved $2,000. After several months 
vacation in the south, he returned to Phila- 
delphia and became a master brick mason, 
but this was too tiresome to the young man, 
and he opened up the " Oak Hall " clothing 
store in April, 1861, at Philadelphia. The 
capital of the firm was rather limited, but 
finally, after many discouragements, they 
laid the foundations of one of the largest 
business houses in the world. The estab- 
lishment covers at the present writing some 
fourteen acres of floor space, and furnishes 



90 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



employment for five thousand persons. Mr. 
Wanamaker was also a great church worker, 
and built a church that cost him $60,000, 
and he was superintendent of the Sunday- 
school, which had a membership of over 
three thousand children. He steadily re- 
fused to run for mayor or congress and the 
only public office that he ever held was that 
of postmaster-general, under the Harrison 
administration, and here he exhibited his 
extraordinary aptitude for comprehending 
the details of public business. 



DAVID BENNETT HILL, a Demo- 
cratic politician who gained a na- 
tional reputation, was born August 29, 
1843, at Havana, New York. He was 
educated at the academy of his native town, 
and removed to Elmira, New York, in 1862, 
where he studied law. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1864, in which year he was ap- 
pointed city attorney. Mr. Hill soon gained 
a considerable practice, becoming prominent 
in his profession. He developed a taste for 
politics in which he began to take an active 
part in the different campaigns and became 
the recognized leader of the local Democ- 
racy. In 1870 he was elected a member of 
the assembly and was re-elected in 1872. 
While a member of this assembly he formed 
the acquaintance of Samuel J. Tilden, after- 
ward governor of the state, who appointed 
Mr. Hill, W. M. Evarts and Judge Hand 
as a committee to provide a uniform charter 
for the different cities of the state. The 
pressure of professional engagements com- 
pelled him to decline to serve. In 1877 
Mr. Hill was made chairman of the Demo- 
cratic state convention at Albany, his elec- 
tion being due to the Tilden wing of the 
party, and he held the same position again 
in 1 88 1. He served one term as alderman 
in Elmira, at the expiration of which term, 



in 1882, he was elected mayor of Elmira, 
and in September of the same year was 
nominated for lieutenant-governor on the 
Democratic state ticket. He was success- 
ful in the campaign and two years later, 
when Grover Cleveland was elected to the 
presidency, Mr. Hill succeeded to the gov- 
ernorship for the unexpired term. In 1885 
he was elected governor for a full term of 
three years, at the end of which he was re- 
elected, his term expiring in 1891, in which 
year he was elected United States senator. 
In the senate he became a conspicuous 
figure and gained a national reputation. 

ALLEN G. THURMAN.—" The noblest 
Roman of them all " was the title by 
which Mr. Thurman was called by his com- 
patriots of the Democracy. He was the 
greatest leader of the Democratic party in 
his day and held the esteem of all the 
people, regardless of their political creeds. 
Mr. Thurman was born November 13, 18 13, 
at Lynchburg, Virginia, where he remained 
until he had attained the age of six years, 
when he moved to Ohio. He received an 
academic education and after graduating, 
took up the study of law, was admitted to 
the bar in 1835, and achieved a brilliant 
success in that line. In political life he was 
very successful, and his first office was that 
of representative of the state of Ohio in the 
twenty-ninth congress. He was elected 
judge of the supreme court of Ohio in 1851, 
and was chief justice of the same from 1854 
to 1856. In 1867 he was the choice of the 
Democratic party of his state for governor, 
and was elected to the United States senate 
in 1869 to succeed Benjamin F. Wade, 
and was re-elected to the same position in 
1874. He was a prominent figure in the 
senate, until the expiration of his service in 
1 88 1. Mr. Thurman was also one of the 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



principal presidental possibilities in the 
Democratic convention held at St. Louis in 
1876. In 1888 he was the Democratic 
nominee for vice-president on the ticket 
with Grover Cleveland, but was defeated. 
Allen Cranberry Thurman died December 
12, 1895, ^t Columbus, Ohio. 

CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE, better 
known as •' Artemus Ward," was born 
April 26, 1834, in the village of Waterford, 
Maine. He was thirteen years old at the 
time of his father's death, and about a year 
later he was apprenticed to John M. Rix, 
who published the "Coos County Dem- 
ocrat " at Lancaster, New Hampshire. Mr. 
Browne remained with him one year, when, 
hearing that his brother Cyrus was starting 
a paper at Norway, Maine, he left Mr. Rix 
and determined to get work on the new 
paper. He worked for his brother until the 
failure of the newspaper, and then went to 
Augusta, Maine, where he remained a few 
weeks and then removed to Skowhegan, 
and secured a position on the "Clarion." 
But either the climate or the work was not 
satisfactory to him, for one night he silently 
left the town and astonished his good mother 
by appearing unexpectedly at home. Mr. 
Browne then received some letters of recom- 
mendation to Messrs. Snow and Wilder, of 
Boston, at whose office Mrs. Partington's 
(B. P. Shillaber) " Carpet Bag " was printed, 
and he was engaged and remained there for 
three years. He then traveled westward in 
search of employment and got as far as Tif- 
fin, Ohio, where he found employment in the 
office of the "Advertiser," and remained 
there some months when he proceeded to 
Toledo, Ohio, where he became one of the 
staff of the "Commercial," which position 
he held until 1857. Mr. Browne next went 
to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the local 



editor of the "Plain Dealer," and it was m 
the columns of this paper that he published 
his first articles and signed them "Artemus 
Ward." In i860 he went to New York and 
became the editor of " Vanity Fair," but 
the idea of lecturing here seized him, and he 
was fully determined to make the trial. 
Mr. Browne brought out his lecture, "Babes 
in the Woods "at Clinton Hall, December 
23, 1861, and in 1862 he published his first 
book entitled, " Artemus Ward; His Book." 
He attained great fame as a lecturer and his 
lectures were not confined to America, for 
he went to England in 1866, and became 
exceedingly popular, both as a lecturer and 
a contributor to "Punch." Mr. Browne 
lectured for the last time January 23, 1867. 
He died in Southampton, England, March 
6, 1867. 

THURLOW WEED, a noted journalist 
and politician, was born in Cairo, New 
York, November 15, 1797. He learned the 
printer's trade at the age of twelve years, 
and worked at this calling for several years 
in various villages in central New York. He 
served as quartermaster-sergeant during the 
war of 18 1 2. In 1818 he established the 
"Agriculturist," at Norwich, New York, 
and became editor of the "Anti-Masonic 
Enquirer," at Rochester, in 1826. In the 
same year he was elected to the legislature 
and re-elected in 1830, when he located in 
Albany, New York, and there started the 
" Evening Journal," and conducted it in op- 
position to the Jackson administration and 
the nullification doctrines of Calhoun. He 
became an adroit party manager, and was 
instrumental in promoting the nominations 
of Harrison, Taylor and Scott for the pres- 
idency. In 1856 and in i860 he threw his 
support to W. H. Seward, but when defeat- 
ed in his object, he gave cordial support to 



92 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Fremont and Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln pre- 
VE'led upon him to visit the various capitals 
of Europe, where he proved a valuable aid 
to the administration in moulding the opin- 
ions of the statesmen of that continent 
favorable to the cause of the Union. 

Mr. Weed's connection with the ' ' Even- 
ing Journal " was severed in 1862, when he 
settled in New York, and for a time edited 
the " Commercial Advertiser." In 1868 he 
retired from active life. His " Letters from 
Europe and the West Indies," published in 
1866, together with some interesting " Rem- 
iniscences," published in the "Atlantic 
Monthly," in 1870, an autobiography, and 
portions of an extensive correspondence will 
be of great value to writers of the political 
history of the United States. Mr. Weed 
died in New York, November 22, 1882. 



WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY, 
one of the prominent Democratic 
politicians of the country and ex-secretary of 
the navy, was born July 5th, 1841, at Con- 
way, Massachusetts, and received his edu- 
cation at Williston Seminary, East Hamp- 
ton, Massachusetts, Later he attended 
Yale College, where he graduated in 1863, 
and entered the Harvard Law School, which 
he left in 1864. Beginning practice in New 
York city, he soon gained a reputation as 
an able lawyer. He made his first appear- 
ance in public affairs in 1871, when he was 
active in organizing a young men's Demo- 
cratic club. In 1872 he was the recognized 
leader of the county Democracy and in 1875 
was appointed corporation counsel for the 
city of New York. He resigned the office, 
1882, to attend to personal interests and on 
March 5, 1885, he was appointed secretary 
of the navy by President Cleveland. Under 
his administration the navy of the United 
States rapidly rose in rank among the navies 



of the world. When he retired from office 
in 1889, the vessels of the United States 
navy designed and contracted for by him 
were five double-turreted monitors, two 
new armor-clads, the dynamite cruiser "Ve- 
suvius," and five unarmored steel and iron 
cruisers. 

Mr. Whitney was the leader of the 
Cleveland forces in the national Democratic 
convention of 1892. 



EDWIN FORREST, the first and great- 
est American tragedian, was born in 
Philadelphia in 1806. His father was a 
tradesman, and some accounts state that he 
had marked out a mercantile career for his 
son, Edwin, while others claim that he had 
intended him for the ministry. His wonder- 
ful memory, his powers of mimicry and his 
strong musical voice, however, attracted at- 
tention before he was eleven years old, and 
at that age he made his first appearance on 
the stage. The costume in which he appeared 
was so ridiculous that he left the stage in a 
fit of anger amid a roar of laughter from 
the audience. This did not discourage him, 
however, and at the age of fourteen, after 
some preliminary training in elocution, he 
appeared again, this time as Young Norvel, 
and gave indications of future greatness. 
Up to 1826 he played entirely with strolling 
companies through the south and west, but 
at that time he obtained an engagement at 
the Bowery Theater in New York. From 
that time his fortune was made. His man- 
ager paid him $40 per night, and it is stated 
that he loaned Forrest to other houses from 
time to time at $200 per night. His great 
successes were Virginius, Damon, Othello. 
Coriolanus, William Tell, Spartacus and 
Lear. He made his first appearance in 
London in 1836, and his success was un- 
questioned from the start. In 1845, on his 



COMPEXDTU^r OF BfOGRAriir. 



second appearance in London, he became 
involved in a bitter rivalry with the great 
English actor. Macready, who had visited 
America two years before. The result was 
that Forrest was hissed from the stage, and 
it was charged that Macready had instigated 
the plot. Forrest's resentment was so bitter 
that he himself openly hissed Macready 
from his box a few nights later. In 1848 
Macready again visited America at a time 
when American admiration and enthusiasm 
for Forrest had reached its height. Macready 
undertook to play at Astor Place Opera 
House in May, 1849, but was hooted off the 
stage. A few nights later Macready made a 
second attempt to play at the same house, 
thistime under police protection. The house 
was filled with Macready'sfriends, butthe vio- 
olence of the mob outside stopped the play, 
and the actor barely escaped with his life. 
Upon reading the riot act the police and 
troops were assaulted with stones. The 
troops replied, first with blank cartridges, 
and then a volley of lead dispersed the 
mob, leaving thirty men dead or seriously 
wounded. 

After this incident Forrest's popularity 
waned, until in 1855 he retired from the 
stage. He re-appeared in i860, however, 
and probably the most remunerative period 
of his life was between that date and the 
close of the Civil war. His last appearance 
on the stage was at the Globe Theatre, 
Boston, in Richelieu, in April, 1872, his 
death occurring December 12 of that year. 



NOAH PORTER, D. D., LL. D., was 
one of the most noted educators, au- 
thors and scientific writers of the United 
States. He was born December 14, 181 1, 
at Farmington, Connecticut, graduated at 
Yale College in 1831, and was master of 
Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven in 



1831-33. During 1833-35 he was a tutor 
at Yale, and at the same time was pursuing 
his theological studies, and became pastor 
of the Congregational church at New Mil- 
ford, Connecticut, in April, 1836. Dr. 
Porter removed to Springfield, Massachu- 
setts, in 1843, and was chosen professor of 
metaphysics and moral philosophy at Yale 
in 1846. He spent a year in Germany in 
the study of modern metaphysics in 1853- 
54, and in 1871 he was elected president of 
Yale College. He resigned the presidency 
in 1885, but still remained professor of met- 
aphysics and moral philosophy. He was 
the author of a number of works, among 
which are the following: "Historical Es- 
say," written in commemorationof the 200th 
aniversary of the settlement of the town of 
Farmington; " Educational System of the 
Jesuits Compared;" "The Human Intel- 
lect," with an introduction upon psychology 
and the soul; " Books and Reading;" 
"American Colleges and the American Pub- 
lic;" " Elementsof Intellectual Philosophy;" 
" The Science of Nature versus the Science 
of Man;" "Science and Sentiment;" "Ele- 
ments of Moral Science." Dr. Porter was 
the principal editor of the revised edition of 
Webster's Dictionary in 1864, and con- 
tributed largely to religious reviews and 
periodicals. Dr. Porter's death occurred 
March 4, 1892, at New Haven, Connecticut. 



JOHN TYLER, tenth president of the 
United States, was born in Charles City 
county, Virginia, March 29, 1790, and was 
the son of Judge John Tyler, one of the 
most distinguished men of his day. 

When but twelve years of age young 
John Tyler entered William and Mary Col- 
lege, graduating from there in 1806. He 
took up the study of law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1809, when but nineteen years 



94 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of age. On attaining his majority in 1811 
he was elected a member of the state legis- 
lature, and for five years held that position 
by the almost unanimous vote of his county. 
He was elected to congress in 18 16, and 
served in that body for four years, after 
which for two years he represented his dis- 
trict again in the legislature of the state. 
While in congress, he opposed the United 
States bank, the protective policy and in- 
ternal improvements by the United States 
governmont. 1825 saw Mr. Tyler governor 
of Virginia, but in 1827 he was chosen 
member of the United States senate, and 
held that office for nine years. He therein 
opposed the administration of Adams and 
the tariff bill of 1828, sympathized with the 
nullii?ers of South Carolina and was the 
only senator who voted against the Force 
bill lor the suppression of that state's insip- 
ient rebellion. He resigned his position as 
senator on account of a disagreement with 
the legislature of his state in relation to his 
censuring President Jackson. He retired to 
Williamsburg, Virginia, but being regarded 
as a martyr by the Whigs, whom, hereto- 
fore, he had always opposed, was supported 
by many of that party for the vice-presi- 
dency in 1836. He sat in the Virginia leg- 
islature as a Whig in 1839-40, and was a 
delegate to the convention of that party in 
i8;9. This national convention nominated 
him for the second place on the ticket with 
General William H. H. Harrison, and he 
was elected vice-president in November, 
1840. President Harrison dying one month 
after his inauguration, he was succeeded by 
John Tyler. He retained the cabinet chosen 
by his predecessor, and for a time moved in 
harmony with the Whig party. He finally 
instructed the secretary of the treasury, 
Thomas Ewing, to submit to congress a bill 
for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the 



United States, which was passed by con- 
gress, but vetoed by the president on ac- 
count of some amendments he considered 
unconstitutional. For this and other meas- 
ures he was accused of treachery to his 
party, and deserted by his whole cabinet, 
except Daniel Webster. Things grew worse 
until he was abandoned by the Whig party 
formally, when Mr. Webster resigned. He 
was nominated at Baltimore, in May, 1844, 
at the Democratic convention, as their pres- 
idential candidate, but withdrew from the 
canvass, as he saw he had not succeed- 
ed in gaining the confidence of his old 
party. He then retired from politics until 
February, 1861, when he was made presi- 
dent of the abortive peace congress, which 
met in Washington. He shortly after re- 
nounced his allegiance to the United States 
and was elected a member of the Confeder- 
ate congress. He died at Richmond, Janu- 
ary 17, 1862. 

Mr. Tyler married, in 18 13, Miss Letitia 
Christian, who died in 1842 at Washington. 
June 26, 1844, he contracted a second mar- 
riage, with Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. 



COLLIS POTTER HUNTINGTON, 
one of the great men of his time and 
who has left his impress upon the history of 
our national development, was born October 
22, 1 82 1, at Harwinton, Connecticut. 
He received a common-school education 
and at the age of fourteen his spirit of get- 
ting along in the world mastered his educa- 
tional propensities and his father's objec- 
tions and he left school. He went to Cali- 
fornia in the early days and had opportunities 
which he handled masterfully. Others had 
the same opportunities but they did not have 
his brains nor his energy, and it was he who 
overcame obstacles and reaped the reward 
of his genius. Transcontinental railways 



COMPEXniLM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



95 



were inevitable, but the realization of this 
masterful achievement would have been de- 
layed to a much later day if there had been 
no Huntington. He associated himself with 
Messrs. Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, 
and Charles Crocker, and they furnished the 
money necessary for a survey across the 
Sierra Nevadas, secured a charter for the 
road, and raised, with the government's aid, 
money enough to construct and equip that 
railway, which at the time of its completion 
was a marvel of engineering and one of the 
wonders of the world. Mr. Huntington be- 
came president of the Southern Pacific rail- 
road, vice-president of the Central Pacific; 
trustee of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph 
Company, and a director of the Occidental 
and Oriental Steamship Company, besides 
being identified with many other business 
enterprises of vast importance. 



GEORGE A. CUSTER, a famous In- 
dian fighter, was born in Ohio in 1840. 
He graduated at West Point in 1861, an- 
served in the Civil war; was at Bull Run id 
1861, and was in the Peninsular campaign, 
being one of General McClellan's aides-de, 
camp. He fought in the battles of South 
Mountain and Antietam in 1863, and was 
with General Stoneman on his famous 
cavalry raid. He was engaged in the battle 
of Gettysburg, and was there made brevet- 
major. In 1863 was appointed brigadier- 
general of volunteers. General Custer was 
in many skirmishes in central Virginia in 
1863-64, and was present at the following 
battles of the Richmond campaign: Wil- 
derness, Todd's Tavern, Yellow Tavern, where 
hewasbrevetted lieutenant-colonel; Meadow 
Bridge, Haw's Shop, Cold Harbor, Trevil- 
lian Station. In the Shenandoah Valley 
1 864-65 he was brevetted colonel at Opequan 
Creek, and at Cedar Creek he was made 



brevet major-general for gallant conduct 
during the engagement. General Custer 
was in command of a cavalry division in the 
pursuit of Lee's army in 1865, and fought 
at Dinwiddle Court House, Five Forks, 
where he was made brevet brigadier-general ; 
Sailors Creek and Appomattox, where he 
gained additional honors and was made 
brevet major-general, and was given the 
command of the cavalry in the military 
division of the southwest and Gulf, in 1865. 
After the establishment of peace he Went 
west on frontier duty and performed gallant 
and valuable service in the troubles with the 
Indians. He was killed in the massacre on 
the Little Big Horn river. South Dakota, 
Jime 25, 1876. 



DANIEL WOLSEY VOORHEES, cel- 
brated as " The Tall Sycamore of the 
Wabash," was born September 26, 1827, 
in Butler county, Ohio. When he was two 
months old his parents removed to Fount- 
ain county, Indiana. He grew to manhood 
on a farm, engaged in all the arduous work 
pertaining to rural life. In 1845 he entered 
the Indiana Asbury University, now the De 
Pauw, from which he graduated in 1849. 
He took up the study of law at Crawfords- 
ville, and in 1851 began the practice of his 
profession at Covington, Fountain county, 
Indiana. He became a law partner of 
United States Senator Hannegan, of Indi- 
ana, in 1852, and in 1856 he was an unsuc- 
cessful candidate for congress. In the fol- 
lowing year he took up his residence in Terre 
Haute, Indiana. He was United States 
district attorney for Indiana from 1857 until 
1 86 1, and he had during this period been 
elected to congress, in i860. Mr. Voorhees 
was re-elected to congress in 1862 and 1864. 
but he was unsuccessful in the election of 
1866. However, he was returned to con- 



96 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



gress in 1868, where he remained until 1874, 
having been re-elected twice. In 1877 he 
was appointed United States senator from 
Indiana to fill a vacancy caused by the death 
of O. P. Morton, and at the end of the term 
was elected for the ensuing term, being re- 
elected in 1885 and in 1891 to the same of- 
fice. He served with distinction on many 
of the committees, and took a very prom- 
inent part in the discussion of all the im- 
portant legislation of his time. His death 
occurred in August, 189 . 



ALEXANDER GRAHAM B"ELL, fa- 
mous as one of the inventors of the tele- 
phone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 
March 3rd, 1847. He received his early 
education in the high school and later he 
attended the university, and was specially 
trained to follow his grandfather's profes- 
sion, that of removing impediments of 
speech. He emigrated to the United States 
in 1872, and introduced into this country 
his father's invention of visible speech in the 
institutions for deaf-mutes. Later he was 
appointed professor of vocal physiology in 
the Boston University. He worked for 
many years during his leisure hours on his 
telephonic discovery, and finally perfected 
it and exhibited it publicly, before it had 
reached the high state of perfection to which 
he brought it. His first exhibition of it was 
at the Centennial Exhibition that was held 
in Philadelphia in 1876. Its success is now 
established throughout the civilized world. 
In 1882 Prof. Bell received a diploma and 
the decoration of the Legion of Honor from 
the Academy of Sciences of France. 



WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT, 
the justly celebrated historian and 
author, was a native of Salem, Massachu- 
setts, and was born May 4, 1796. He was 



the son of Judge William Prescott and the 
grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill, Colonel 
William Prescott. 

Our subject in 1808 removed with the 
family to Boston, in the schools of which 
city he received his early education. He 
entered Harvard College as a sophomore in 
181 1, having been prepared at the private 
classical college of Rev. Dr. J. S. J. Gardi- 
jner. The following year he received an in- 
ury in his left eye which made study 
through life a matter of difficulty. He 
graduated in 18 14 with high honors in the 
classics and belle lettres. He spent several 
months on the Azores Islands, and later 
visited England, France and Italy, return- 
ing home in 1817. In June, 1818, he 
founded a social and literary club at Boston 
for which he edited "The Club Room," a 
periodical doomed to but a short life. May 
4, 1820, he married Miss Susan Amory. 
He devoted several years after that event to 
a thorough study of ancient and modern 
history and literature. As the fruits of his 
labors he published several well written 
essays upon French and Italian poetry and 
romance in the " North American Review." 
January 19, 1826, he decided to take up his 
first great historical work, the " History of 
the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella." To 
this he gave the labor of ten years, publish- 
ing the same December 25, 1837. Although 
placed at the head of all American authors, 
so diffident was Prescott of his literary merit 
that although he had four copies of this 
work printed for his own convenience, he 
hesitated a long time before giving it to the 
public, and it was only by the solicitation of 
friends, especially of that talented Spanish 
scholar, George Ticknor, that he was in- 
duced to do so. Soon the volumes were 
translated into French, Italian, Dutch and 
German, and the work was recognized 



COMPENDIUM OF B/OGR A /'//}: 



97 



throughout the world as one of the most 
meritorious of historical compositions. In 
1843 he published the "Conquest of Mexi- 
co," and in 1847 the "Conquest of Peru." 
Two years later there came from his pen a 
volume of " Biographical and Critical Mis- 
cellanies." Going abroad in the summer of 
1S50, he was received with great distinction 
in the literary circles of London, Edinburgh, 
Paris, Antwerp and Brussels. O.xford Uni- 
versity conferred the degree of D. C. L. 
upon him. In 1855 he issued two volumes 
of his "History of the Reign of Philip the 
Second," and a third in 1858. In the 
meantime he edited Robertson's "Charles 
the Fifth," adding a history of the life of 
that monarch after his abdication. Death 
cut short his work on the remaining volumes 
oi' " Philip the Second," coming to him at 
Boston, Massachusetts, May 28, 1859. 



OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, a noted 
American commodore, was born in 
South Kingston, Rhode Island, August 23, 
1785. He saw his first service as a mid- 
shipman in the United States navy in April, 
1799. He cruised with his father. Captain 
Christopher Raymond Perry, in the West In- 
dies for about two years. In 1804 he was 
in the war against Tripoli, and was made 
lieutenant in 1807. At the opening of hostili- 
ties with Great Britain in 1812 he was given 
command of a fleet of gunboats on the At- 
lantic coast. At his request he was trans- 
ferred, a year later, to Lake Ontario, where 
he served under Commodore Chauncey, and 
took an active part in the attack on Fort 
George. He was ordered to fit out a squad- 
ron on Lake Erie, vyhich he did, building 
most of his vessels from the forests along 
the shore, and by the summer of 1 8 1 3 he had 
a fleet of nine vessels at Presque Isle, now 
Erie, Pennsylvania September loth he 



attacked and captured the British fleet near 
Put-in-Bay, thus clearing the lake of hostile 
ships. His famous dispatch is part of his 
fame, " We have met the enemy, and they 
are ours. " He co-operated with Gen. Har- 
rison, and the success of the campaign in 
the northwest was largely due to his victory. 
The next year he was transferred to the Po- 
tomac, and assisted in the defense of Balti- 
more. After the war he was in constant 
service with the various squadrons in cruising 
in all parts of the world. He died of yellow 
fever on the Island of Trinidad, August 23, 
1 8 19. His remains were conveyed to New- 
port, and buried there, and an imposing 
obelisk was erected to his memory by the 
State of Rhode Island. A bronze statue 
was also erected in his honor, the unveiling 
taking place in 1885. 



JOHN PAUL JONES, though a native 
<J of Scotland, was one of America's most 
noted fighters during the Revolutionary war. 
He was born July 6, 1747. His father was 
a gardener, but the young man soon be- 
came interested in a seafaring life and at 
the age of twelve he was apprenticed to a 
sea captain engaged in the American trade. 
His first voyage landed him in Virginia, 
where he had a brother who had settled 
there several years prior. The failure of 
the captain released young Jones from his 
apprenticeship bonds, and he was engaged 
as third mate of a vessel engaged in the 
slave trade. He abandoned this trade after 
a few years, from his own sense of disgrace. 
He took passage from Jamaica for Scotland 
in 1 768, and on the voyage both the captain 
and the mate died and he was compelled to 
take command of the vessel for the re- 
mainder of the voyage. He soon after 
became master of the vessel. He returned 
to Virginia about 1773 to settle up the estate 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



01 his brother, and at this time added the 
name "Jones," having previously been 
known as John Paul. He settled down in 
Virginia, but when the war broke out in 
1775 he offered his services to congress and 
was appointed senior lieutenant of the flag- 
ship "Alfred," on which he hoisted the 
American flag with his own hands, the first 
vessel that had ever carried a flag of the 
new nation. He was afterward appointed 
to the command of the "Alfred," and later 
of the "Providence," in each of which ves- 
sels he did good service, as also in the 
" Ranger," to the command of which he 
was later appointed. The fight that made 
him famous, however, was that in which he 
captured the " Serapis," off the coast of 
Scotland. He was then in command of the 
"Bon Homme Richard," which had been 
fitted out for him by the French government 
and named by Jones in honor of Benjamin 
Franklin, or ' ' Good Man Richard, " Frank- 
lin being author of the publication known 
as " Poor Richard's Almanac." The fight 
between the " Richard" and the "Serapis" 
lasted three hours, all of which time the 
vessels were at close range, and most of the 
time in actual contact. Jones' vessel was 
on fire several times, and early in the en- 
gagement two of his guns bursted, rendering 
the battery useless. Also an envious officer 
of the Alliance, one of Jones' own fleet, 
opened fire upon the " Richard " at a crit- 
ical time, completely disabling the vessel. 
Jones continued the fight, in spite of coun- 
sels to surrender, and after dark the " Ser- 
apis "struck her colors, and was hastily 
boarded by Jones and his crew, while the 
"Richard" sank, bows first, after the 
wounded had been taken on board the 
"Serapis." Most of the other vessels of 
the fleet of which the " Serapis" was con- 
voy, surrendered, and were taken with the 



"Serapis" to France, where Jones was 
received with greatest honors, and the king 
presented him with an elegant sword and 
the cross of the Order of Military Merit. 
Congress gave him a vote of thanks and 
made him commander of a new ship, the 
"America," but the vessel was afterward 
given to France and Jones never saw active 
sea service again. He came to America again, 
in 1787, after the close of the war, and was 
voted a gold medal by congress. He went to 
Russia and was appointed rear-admiral and 
rendered service of value against the Turks, 
but on account of personal enmity of the fav- 
orites of the emperor he was retired on a pen- 
sion. Failing to collect this, he returned to 
France, where he died, July iS, 1792. 



THOMAS MORAN, the well-known 
painter of Rocky Mountain scenery, 
was born in Lancashire, England, in 1837. 
He came to America when a child, and 
showing artistic tastes, he was apprenticed 
to a wood engraver in Philadelphia. Three 
years later he began landscape painting, and 
his style soon began to exhibit signs of genius. 
His first works were water-colors, and 
though without an instructor he began the 
use of oils, he soon found it necessary to 
visit Europe, where he gave particular at- 
tention to the works of Turner. He joined 
the Yellowstone Park exploring expedition 
and visited the Rocky Mountains in 1871 
and again in 1873, making numerous 
sketches of the scenery. The most note- 
worthy results were his "Grand Canon of 
the Yellowstone," and " The Chasm of the 
Colorado," which were purchased by con- 
gress at $10,000 each, the first of which is 
undoubtedly the finest landscape painting 
produced in this country. Mr. Moran has 
subordinated art to nature, and the subjects 
he has chosen leave little ground for fault 



^ 







i wc 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV. 



101 



finding on that account. "The Mountain 
of the Holy Cross," "The Groves Were 
(.od's First Temples," " The Cliffs of Green 
River, "" The Children of the Mountain," 
"The Ripening of the Leaf," and others 
have given him additional fame, and while 
I hey do not equal in grandeur the first 
mentioned, in many respects from an artis- 
tic standpoint they are superior. 

L ELAND STANFORD was one of the 
greatest men of the Pacific coast and 
also had a national reputation. He was 
born March 9, 1824, in Albany county, New 
York, and passed his early life on his 
father's farm. He attended the local 
schools of the county and at the age of 
twenty began the study of law. He 
entered the law office of Wheaton, Doolittle 
and Hadley, at Albany, in 1845, and a few 
years later he moved to Port Washington, 
Wisconsin, where he practiced law four 
years with moderate success. In 1852 Mr. 
Stanford determined to push further west, 
and, accordingly went to California, where 
three of his brothers were established in 
business in the mining towns. They took 
Leland into partnership, giving him charge 
of a branch store at Michigan Bluff, in 
Placer county. There he developed great 
business ability and four years later started 
a mercantile house of his own in San Fran- 
cisco, which soon became one of the most 
substantial houses on the coast. On the 
formation of the Republican party he inter- 
ested himself in politics, and in i860 was 
sent as a delegate to the convention that 
nominated Abraham Lincoln. In the 
autumn of 1861 he was elected, by an im- 
mense majority, governor of California. 
Prior to his election as governor he had 
been chosen president of the newly-orga- 
nized Central Pacific Railroad Company, 



and after leaving the executive chair he de- 
voted all of his time to the construction of 
the Pacific end of the transcontinental rail- 
way. May 10, 1869, Mr. Stanford drove 
the last spike of the Central Pacific road, 
thus completing the route across the conti- 
nent. He was also president of the Occi- 
dental and Oriental Steamship Company. 
He had but one son, who died of typhoid 
fever, and as a monument to his child he 
founded the university which bears his son's 
name, Leland Stanford, Junior, University. 
Mr. Stanford gave to this university eighty- 
three thousand acres of land, the estimated 
value of which is $8,000,000, and the entire 
endowment is $20,000,000. In 1 88 5 Mr. 
Stanford was elected United States senator 
as a Republican, to succeed J. T. Farley, a 
Democrat, and was re-elected in 1 891. His 
death occurred June 20, 1894, at Palo Alto, 
California. 



STEPHEN DEC.\TUR, a famous com- 
modore in the United States navy, was 
born in Maryland in 1779. He entered the 
naval service in 1798. In 1804, when the 
American vessel Philadelphia had been run 
aground and captured in the harbor of Trip- 
oli, Decatur, at the head of a few men, 
boarded her and burned her in the face of 
the guns from the city defenses. For this 
daring deed he was made captain. He was 
given command of the frigate United States 
at the breaking out of the war of 1S12, and 
in October of that year he captured the 
British frigate Macedonian, and was re- 
warded with a gold medal by congress. Af- 
ter the close of the war he was sent as com- 
mander of a fleet of ten vessels to chastise 
the dey of Algiers, who was preying upon 
American commerce with impunity and de- 
manding tribute and ransom for the release 
of American citizens captured. Decatur 



102 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



captured a number of Algerian vessels, and 
compelled the dey to sue for peace. He 
was noted for his daring and intrepidity, 
and his coolness in the face of danger, and 
helped to bring the United States navy into 
favor with the people and congress as a 
means of defense and offense in time of 
war. He was killed in a duel by Commo- 
dore Barron, March 12, 1820. 



JAMES KNOX POLI<:, the eleventh 
president of the United States, 1845 to 
1849, was born November 2, 1795, in Meck- 
lenburg county, North Carolina, and was 
the eldest child of a family of six sons. He 
removed with his father to the Valley of the 
Duck River, in Tennessee, in 1806. He 
attended the common schools and became 
very proficient in the lower branches of 
education, and supplemented this with 
a course in the Murfreesboro Academy, 
which he entered in 18 13 and in the autumn 
of 18 1 5 he became a student in the sopho- 
more class of the University of North Caro- 
lina, at Chapel Hill, and was graduated in 
18 1 8. He then spent a short time in re- 
cuperating his health and then proceeded to 
Nashville, Tennessee, where he took up the 
study of law in the office of Feli.x Grundy. 
After the completion of his law studies he 
was admitted to the bar and removed to 
Columbia, Maury county, Tennessee, and 
started in the active practice of his profes- 
sion. Mr. Polk was a Jeffersonian " Re- 
publican " and in 1823 he was elected to the 
legislature of Tennessee. He was a strict 
constructionist and did not believe that the 
general government had the power to carry 
on internal improvements in the states, but 
deemed it important that it should have that 
power, and wanted the constitution amended 
to that effect. But later on he became 
alarmed lest the general government might 



become strong enough to abolish slavery 
and therefore gave his whole support to the 
" State's Rights" movement, and endeavored 
to check the centralization of power in the 
general government. Mr. Polk was chosen 
a member of congress in 1825, and held that 
office until 1839. He then withdrew, as he 
was the successful gubernatorial candidate 
of his state. He had become a man of 
great influence in the house, and, as the 
leader of the Jackson party in that body, 
weilded great influence in the election of 
General Jackson to the presidency. He 
sustained the president in all his measures 
and still remained in the house after Gen- 
eral Jackson had been succeeded by Martin 
Van Buren. He was speaker of the house 
during five sessions of congress. He was 
elected governor of Tennessee by a large 
majority and took the oath of office at Nash- 
ville, October 4, 1839. He was a candidate 
for re-election but was defeated by Governor 
Jones, the Whig candidate. In 1844 the 
most prominent question in the election was 
the anne.xation of Texas, and as Mr. Polk 
was the avowed champion of this cause he 
was nominated for president by the pro- 
slavery wing of the democratic party, was 
elected by a large majority, and was inaug- 
urated March 4, 1845. President Polk 
formed a very able cabinet, consisting of 
James Buchanan, Robert J. Walker, Will- 
iam L. Marcy, George Bancroft, Cave John- 
son, and John Y. Mason. The dispute re- 
garding the Oregon boundary was settled 
during his term of office and a new depart- 
ment was added to the list of cabinet po- 
sitions, that of the Interior. The low tariff 
bill of 1846 was carried and the financial 
system of the country was reorganized. It 
was also during President Polk's term that 
the Mexican war was successfully conducted, 
which resulted in the acquisition of Califor- 



COMPEXDILM OF n/OG/iAPJ/)'. 



nia and New Mexico. Mr. Polk retired from 
the presidency March 4, 1849, after having 
declined a re-nomination, and was succeeded 
by General Zachary Taylor, the hero of the 
Me.xican war. Mr. Polk retired to private 
life, to his home in Nashville, where he died 
at the age of fifty-four on June 9, 1849. 



ANNA DICKINSON (Anna Elizabeth 
Dickinson), a noted lecturer and pub- 
lic speaker, was born at Philadelphia, Oc- 
tober 28, 1842. Her parents were Quakers, 
and she was educated at the Friends' free 
schools in her native city. She early man- 
ifested an inclination toward elocution and 
public speaking, and when, at the age of 18, 
she found an opportunity to appear before 
a national assemblage for the discussion of 
woman's rights, she at once established her 
reputation as a pubhc speaker. From i860 
to the close of the war and during the ex- 
citing period of reconstruction, she was one 
of the most noted and influential speakers 
before the American public, and her popu- 
larity was unequaled by that of any of her 
sex. A few weeks after the defeat and 
death of Colonel Baker at Ball's Bluff, Anna 
Dickinson, lecturing in New York, made 
the remarkable assertion, " Not the incom- 
petency of Colonel Baker, but the treachery 
of General McClellan caused the disaster at 
Ball's Bluff." She was hissed and hooted 
off the stage. A year later, at the same 
hall and with much the same class of audi- 
tors, she repeated the identical words, and 
the applause was so great and so long con- 
tinued that it was impossible to go on with 
her lecture for more than half an hour. The 
change of sentiment had been wrought by 
the reverses and dismissal of McClellan and 
his ambition to succeed Mr. Lincoln as presi- 
dent. 

Ten years after the close of the war..\nna 



Dickinson was not heard of on the lec- 
ture platform, and about that time she made 
an attempt to enter the dramatic profession, 
but after appearing a number of times in dif- 
ferent plays she was pronounced a failure. 



ROBERT J. BURDETTE.— Some per- 
sonal characteristics of Mr. Burdette 
were quaintly given by himself in the follow- 
ing words: " Politics.' Republican after 
the strictest sect. Religion .' Baptist. Per- 
sonal appearance .■' Below medium height, 
and weigh one hundred and thirty-five 
pounds, no shillings and no pence. Rich ? 
Not enough to own a yacht. Favorite read- 
ing.' Poetry and history — know Longfellow 
by heart, almost. Write for magizines .' 
Have more ' declined with thanks ' letters 
than would fill a trunk. Never able to get 
into a magazine with a line. Care about it.' 
Mad as thunder. Think about starting a 
magazine and rejecting everbody's articles 
except my own." Mr. Burdette was born 
at Greensborough, Pennsylvania, in 1844. 
He served through the war of the rebellion 
under General Banks "on an excursion 
ticket" as he felicitously described it, "good 
both ways, conquering in one direction and 
running in the other, pay going on just the 
same." He entered into journalism by the 
gateway of New York correspondence for 
the "Peoria Transcript," and in 1874 went 
on the " Burlington Hawkeye " of which he 
became the managing editor, and the work 
that he did on this paper made both him- 
self and the paper famous in the world of 
humor. Mr. Burdette married in 1870, 
and his wife, whom he called "Her Little 
Serene Highness," was to him a guiding 
light until the day of her death, and it was 
probably the unconscious pathos with which 
he described her in his work that broke the 
barriers that had kept him out of the maga- 



104 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



zines and secured him the accejitance of his 
"Confessions" by Lippincott some years 
ago, and brought him substantial fame and 
recognition in the hterary world. 



WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, one 
of the leading novelists of the present 
century and author of a number of works 
that gained for him a place in the hearts of 
the people, was born March i, 1837, at 
Martinsville, Belmont county, Ohio. At 
ihe age of three years he accompanied his 
father, who was a printer, to Hamilton, 
Ohio, where he learned the printer's trade. 
Later he was engaged on the editorial staff 
of the ' ' Cincinnati Gazette " and the ' ' Ohio 
State Journal." During 1861-65 he was 
the United States consul at Venice, and 
from 1871 to 1878 he was the editor-in- 
chief of the "Atlantic Monthly." As a 
writer he became one of the most fertile 
and readable of authors and a pleasing poet. 
In 1885 he became connected with " Har- 
per's Magazine." Mr. Howells was author 
of the list of books that we give below: 
"Venetian Life," " Italian Journeys," "No 
Love Lost," " Suburban Sketches," "Their 
Wedding Journey," "A Chance Acquaint- 
ance," "A Foregone Conclusion," "Dr. 
Breen's Practice," "A Modern Instance," 
"The Rise of Silas Lapham," "Tuscan 
Cities," "Indian Summer," besides many 
others. He also wrote the " Poem of Two 
Friends," with J. J. Piatt in i860, and 
some minor dramas: "The Drawing 
Room Car," "The Sleeping Car," etc., 
that are full of exqusite humor and elegant 
dialogue. 

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL was a son 
of the Rev. Charles Lowell, and was born 
at Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 22, 
1 8 19. He graduated at Harvard College in 



1838 as class poet, and went to Harvard 
Law School, from which he was graduated 
in 1840, and commenced the practice of his 
profession in Boston, but soon gave his un- 
divided attention to literary labors. Mr. 
Lowell printed, in 1841, a small volume of 
poems entitled " A Year's Life," edited with 
Robert Carter; in 1843, " The Pioneer, " a 
literary and critical magazine (monthly), and 
in 1848 another book of poems, that con- 
tained several directed against slavery. He 
published in 1844 a volume of "Poems" 
and in 1845 " Conversations on Some 
of the Old Poets," "The Vision of Sir 
Launfal," " A Fable for Critics," and "The 
Bigelow Papers," the latter satirical es- 
says in dialect poetry directed against 
slavery and the war with Mexico. In 
1851-52 he traveled in Europe and re- 
sided in Italy for a considerable time, and 
delivered in 1854-55 a course of lectures on 
the British poets, before the Lowell Insti- 
tute, Boston. Mr. Lowell succeeded Long- 
fellow in January, 1855, as professor of 
modern languages and literature at Harvard 
College, and spent another year in Euiope 
qualifying himself for that post. He edited 
the "Atlantic Monthly " from 1857 to 1862, 
and the "North American Review" from 
1863 until 1872. From 1864 to 1S70 he 
published the following works: "Fireside 
Travels," "Under the Willows," "The 
Commemoration Ode," in honor of the 
alumni of Harvard who had fallen in the 
Civil war; "The Cathedral," two volumes 
of essays; "Among My Books" and "My 
Study Windows," and in 1867 he published 
a new series of the " Bigelow Papers." He 
traveled extensively in Europe in 1872-74, 
and received in person the degree of D. C. 
L. at Oxford and that of LL. D. at the 
University of Cambridge, England. He 
was also interested in political life and held 



COMPEXDICM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



105 



many important offices. He was United 
States minister to Spain in 1877 and was 
also minister to England in 1880-85. On 
January 2, 1884, he was elected lord rector 
of St. Andrew University in Glasgow, Scot- 
land, but soon after he resigned the same. 
Mr. Lowell's works enjoy great popularity 
in the United States and England. He 
died August 12, 1891. 



JOSEPH HENRY, one of America's 
greatest scientists, was born at Albany, 
New York, December 17, 1797. He was 
educated in the common schools of the city 
and graduated from the Albany Academy, 
where he became a professor of mathemat- 
ics in 1826. In 1827 he commenced a 
course of investigation, which he continued 
for a number of years, and the results pro- 
duced had great effect on the scientific world. 
The first success was achieved by producing 
the electric magnet, and he next proved the 
possibility of exciting magnetic energy at a 
distance, and it was the invention of Pro- 
fessor Henry's intensity magnet that first 
nuule the invention of electric telegraph a 
possibility. He made a statement regarding 
the practicability of applying the intensity 
magnet to telegraphic uses, in his article to 
the ' 'American Journal of Science " in 1 83 1 . 
During the same year he produced the first 
mechanical contrivance ever invented for 
maintaining continuous motion by means of 
electro-magnetism, and he also contrived a 
machine by which signals could be made at 
a distance by the use of his electro-magnet, 
the signals being produced by a lever strik- 
ing on a bell. Some of his electro-magnets 
were of great power, one carried over a ton 
and another not less than three thousand six 
hundred pounds. In 1832 he discovered 
that secondary currents could be produced 
in a long conductor by the induction of the 



primary current upon itself, and also in the 
same year he produced a spark by means of 
a purely magnetic induction. Professor 
Henry was elected, in 1832, professor of nat- 
ural philosophy in the College of New Jer- 
sey, and in his earliest lectures at Princeton, 
demonstrated the feasibility of the electric 
telegraph. Hevisited Europe in 1837, and 
while there he had an interview with Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone, the inventor of the 
needle magnetic telegraph. In 1846 he was 
elected secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, being the first incumbent in that office, 
which he held until his death. Professor 
Henry was elected president of the Ameri- 
can Association for the Advancement of 
Science, in 1849, and of the National 
Academy of Sciences. He was made chair- 
man of the lighthouse board of the United 
States in 1871 and held that position up to 
the time of his death. He received the 
honorary degree of doctor of laws from 
Union College in 1829, and from Harvard 
University in 1851, and his death occurred 
May 13, 1878. Among his numerous works 
may be mentioned the following: "Contri- 
butions to Electricity and Magnetism," 
" American Philosophic Trans, " and many 
articles in the "American Journal of 
Science," the journal of the Franklin Insti- 
tute; the proceedings of the American As- 
sociation for the Advancement of Science, 
and in the annual reports of the Smith- 
sonian Institution from its foundation. 



FRANKLIN BUCHANAN, the famous 
rear-admiral of the Confederate navy 
during the rebellion, was born in Baltimore, 
Maryland. He became a United States 
midshipman in 18 15 and was promoted 
1 through the various grades of the service 
j and became a captain in 1855. Mr. Buch- 
I anan resigned his captaincy in order to join 



106 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



the Confederate service in 1861 and later he 
asked to be reinstated, but his request was 
refused and he then entered into the service 
of the Confederate government. He was 
placed in command of the frigate " Merri- 
mac " after she had been fitted up as an iron- 
clad, and had command of her at the time 
of the battle of Hampton Roads. It was 
he who had command when the " Merri- 
mac " sunl< the two wooden frigates, " Con- 
gress " and "Cumberland," and was also 
in command during part of the historical 
battle of the " Merrimac " and the "Moni- 
tor," where he was wounded and the com- 
mand devolved upon Lieutenant Catesby 
Jones. He was created rear-admiral in the 
Confederate service and commanded the 
Confederate fleet in Mobile bay, which was 
defeated by Admiral Farragut, August 5, 
1864. Mr. Buchanan was in command of 
the "Tennessee," an ironclad, and during 
the engagement he lost one of his legs and 
was taken prisoner in the end by the Union 
fleet. After the war he settled in Talbot 
county, Maryland, where he died May 1 1 , 
1874- 

RICHARD PARKS BLAND, a celebrated 
American statesman, frequently called 
"the father of the house," because of his 
many years of service in the lower house 
of congress, was born August 19, 1835, 
near Hartford, Kentucky, where he received 
a plain academic education. He moved, 
in 1855, to Missouri, from whence he went 
overland to California, afterward locating in 
Virginia City, now in the state of Nevada, 
but then part of the territory of Utah. 
While there he practiced law, dabbled in 
mines and mining in Nevada and California 
for several years, and served for a time as 
treasurer of Carson county, Nevada. Mr. 
Bland returned to Missouri in 1865, where 



he engaged in the practice ot law at Rolla. 
Missouri, and in 1869 removed to Lebanon, 
Missouri. He began his congressional career 
in 1873, when he was elected as a Demo- 
crat to the forty-third congress, and he was 
regularly re-elected to every congress after 
that time up to the fifty-fourth, when he was 
defeated for re-election, but was returned 
to the fifty-fifth congress as a Silver Demo- 
crat. During all his protracted service, 
while Mr. Bland was always steadfast in his 
support of democratic measures, yet he won 
his special renown as the great advocate cf 
silver, being strongly in favor of the free 
and unlimited coinage of silver, and on ac- 
count of his pronounced views was one of 
the candidates for the presidential nomina- 
tion of the Democratic party at Chicago in 
1896. 

FANNY DAVENPORT (F. L. G. Daven- 
port) was of British birth, but she be- 
longs to the American stage. She was the 
daughter of the famous actor, E. L. Daven- 
port, and was born in London in 1850. 
She first went on the stage as a child at the 
Howard Athensum, Boston, and her entire 
life was spent upon the stage. She played 
children's parts at Burton's old theater in 
Chambers street, and then, in 1862, appeared 
as the King of Spain in " Faint Heart Never 
Won Fair Lady. " Here she attracted the 
notice of Augustin Daly, the noted mana- 
ger, then at the Fifth Avenue theater, who 
offered her a six weeks' engagement with 
her father in "London Assurance." She 
afterwards appeared at the same house in a 
variety of characters, and her versatility 
was favorably noticed by the critics. After 
the burning of the old Fifth Avenue, the 
present theater of that name was built at 
Twenty-eighth street, and here Miss Daven- 
port appeared in a play written for her by 



coMrE.\ni(.'.\f or luoGRAPiir. 



107 



Mr. Daly. She scored a great success. 
She then starred in this play throughout the 
country, and was married to Mr. Edwin F. 
Price, an actor of her company, in 1880. 
In 1882 she went to Paris and purchased 
the right to produce in America Sardou's 
great emotional play, "Fedora." It was 
put on at the Fourteenth Street theater in 
New York, and in it she won popular favor 
and became one of the most famous actresses 
of her time. 



HORACE BRIGHAM CLAFLIN, one 
of the greatest merchants America has 
produced, was born in Milford, Massachu- 
setts, a son of John Claflin, also a mer- 
chant. Young Claflin started his active life 
as a clerk in his father's store, after having 
been offered the opportunity of a college 
education, but with the characteristic 
promptness that was one of his virtues he 
exclaimed, "No law or medicine for me." 
He had set his heart on being a merchant, 
and when his father retired he and his 
brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law, Sam- 
uel Daniels, conducted the business. Mr. 
Claflin was not content, however, to run a 
store in a town like Milford, and accordingly 
opened a dry goods store at Worcester, with 
his brother as a partner, but the partnership 
was dissolved a year later and H. B. Claflin 
assumed complete control. The business 
in Worcester had been conducted on ortho- 
dox principles, and when Mr. Claflin came 
there and introduced advertising as a means 
of drawing trade, he created considerable 
animosity among the older merchants. Ten 
years later he was one of the most prosper- 
ous merchants. He disposed of his busi- 
ness in Worcester for $30,000, and went to 
New York to search for a wider field than 
that of a shopkeeper. Mr. Claflin and 
William M. Bulkley started in the dry goods 



business there under the firm name of Bulk- 
ley & Claflin, in 1843, and Mr. Bulkley was 
connected with the firm until 1 851, when he 
retired. A new firm was then formed under 
the name of Claflin, Mellin & Co. This 
firm succeeded in founding the largest dry 
goods house in the world, and after weather- 
ing the dangers of the civil war, during 
which the house came very near going un- 
der, and was saved only by the superior 
business abilities of Mr. Claflin, continued to 
grow. The sales of the firm amounted to 
over $72,000,000 a year after the close of 
the war. Mr. Claflin died November 14, 
1885. 

CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN (Charlotte 
Saunders Cushman), one of the most 
celebrated .\merican actresses, was born in 
Boston, July 23, 1816. She was descended 
from one of the earliest Puritan families. 
Her first attempt at stage work was at the 
age of fourteen years in a charitable concert 
given by amateurs in Boston. From this 
time her advance to the first place on the 
American lyric stage was steady, until, in 
1835, while singing in New Orleans, she 
suddenly lost control of her voice so far as 
relates to singing, and was compelled to re- 
tire. She then took up the study for the 
dramatic stage under the direction of Mr. 
Barton, the tragedian. She soon after 
made her </«•/'«/ as " Lady Macbeth." She 
appeared in New York in September, 1836, 
and her success was immediate. Her 
"Romeo" was almost perfect, and she is 
the only woman that has ever appeared in 
the part of "Cardinal Wolsey." She at 
different times acted as support of Forrest 
and Macready. Her London engagement, 
secured in 1845, after many and great dis- 
couragements, proved an unqualified suc- 
cess. 



108 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAI'HV. 



Her farewell appearance was at Booth's 
theater, New York, November 7, 1874, in 
the part of " Lady Macbeth," and after that 
performance an Ode by R. H. Stoddard 
was read, and a body of citizens went upon 
the stage, and in their name the venerable 
poet Longfellow presented her with a wreath 
of laurel with an inscription to the effect 
that "she who merits the palm should bear 
it. " From the time of her appearance as a 
modest girl in a charitable entertainment 
down to the time of final triumph as a tragic 
queen, she bore herself with as much honor 
to womanhood as to the profession she rep- 
resented. Her death occurred in Boston, 
February 18, 1876. By her profession she 
acquired a fortune of $600,000. 



NEAL DOW, one of the most prominent 
temperance reformers our country has 
known.wasborn in Portland, Me., March 20, 
1804. He received his education in the 
Friends Seminary, at New Bedford, Massa- 
chusetts, his parents being members of that 
sect. After leaving school he pursued a 
mecrantile and manufacturing career for a 
number of years. He was active in the 
affairs of his native city, and in 1839 be- 
came chief of the fire department, and in 
185 1 was elected mayor. He was re-elected 
to the latter office in 1854. Being opposed 
to the liquor traffic he was a champion of 
the project of prohibition, first brought for- 
ward in I S39 by James Appleton. While 
serving his first term as mayor he drafted a 
bill for the "suppression of drinking houses 
and tippling shops," which he took to the 
legislature and which was passed without an 
alteration. In 1858 Mr. Dow was elected 
to the legislature. On the outbreak of the 
Civil war he was appointed colonel of the 
Thirteenth Maine Infantry and accompanied 
General Butler's expedition to New Orleans. 



In 1862 he was made brigadier-general. At 
the battle of Port Hudson May 27, 1863, he 
was twice wounded, and taken prisoner. He 
was confined at Libby prison and Mobile 
nearly a year, when, being exchanged, he 
resigned, his health having given way under 
the rigors of his captivity. He made sev- 
eral trips to England in the interests of 
temperance organization, where he addressed 
large audiences. He was the candidate of 
the National Prohibition party for the presi- 
dency in 1880, receiving about ten thousand 
votes. In 1884 he was largely instrumental 
in the amendment of the constitution of 
Maine, adopted by an overwhelming popular 
vote, which forever forbade the manufacture 
or sale of any intoxicating beverages, and 
commanding the legislature to enforce the 
prohibition. He died October 2, 1897. 



ZACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth president 
of the United States, was born in 
Orange county, Virginia, September 24, 
1784. His boyhood was spent on his fath- 
er's plantation and his education was lim- 
ited. In 1808 he was made lieutenant of 
the Seventh Infantry, and joined his regi- 
ment at New Orleans. He was promoted 
to captain in 18 10, and commanded at Fort 
Harrison, near the present site of Terre 
Haute, in 18 12, where, for his gallant de- 
fense, he was brevetted major, attaining full 
rank in 18 14. In 181 5 he retired to an es- 
tate near Louisville. In 1816 here-entered 
the army as major, and was promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel and then to colonel. 
Having for many years been Indian agent 
over a large portion of the western country, 
he was often required in Washington to give 
advice and counsel in matters connected 
with the Indian bureau. He served through 
the Black Hawk Indian war of 1832, and in 
1837 was ordered to the command of the 



COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHT. 



army in Florida, where he attacked the In- 
dians in the swamps and brakes, defeated 
tliem and ended the war. He was brevetted 
brigadier-general and made commander-in- 
chief of the army in Florida. He was as- 
signed to the command of the army of the 
southwest in 1840, but was soon after re- 
lieved of it at his request. He was then 
stationed at posts in Arkansas. In 1845 he 
was ordered to prepare to protect and de- 
fend Texas boundaries from invasion by 
Mexicans and Indians. On the annexation 
of Texas he proceeded with one thousand 
five hundred men to Corpus Christi, within 
the disputed territory. After reinforcement 
he was ordered by the Mexican General Am- 
pudia to retire beyond the Nueces river, 
with which order he declined to comply. 
The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma followed, and he crossed the Rio 
Grande and occupied Matamoras May i8th. 
He was commissioned major-general for this 
campaign, and in September he advanced 
upon the city of Monterey and captured it 
after a hard fight. Here he took up winter 
quarters, and when he was about to resume 
activity in the spring he was ordered to send 
the larger part of his army to reinforce 
General Scott at Vera Cruz. After leaving 
garrisons at various points his army was re- 
duced to about five thousand, mostly fresh 
recruits. He was attacked by ':he army of 
Santa Anna at Buena Vista, February 22, 
1S47, and after a severe fight completely 
routed the Mexicans. He received the 
thanks of congress and a gold medal for 
this victory. He remained in command of 
the " army of occupation " until winter, 
when he returned to the United States. 

In 1848 General Taylor was nominated 
by the Whigs for president. He was elected 
over his two opponents, Cass and Van 
Buren. Great bitterness was developing in 



the struggle for and against the extension of 
slavery, and the newly acquired territory in 
the west, and the fact that the states were 
now equally divided on that question, tended 
to increase the feeling. President Taylor 
favored immediate admission of California 
with her constitution prohibiting slavery, 
and the admission of other states to be 
formed out of the new territory as they 
might elect as they adopted constitutions 
from time to time. This policy resulted in 
the " Omnibus Bill," which afterward passed 
congress, though in separate bills; not, how- 
ever, until after the death of the soldier- 
statesman, which occurred July 9, 1850. 
One of his daughters became the wife of 
Jefferson Da\is. 



MELVILLE D. LANDON, better known 
as " Eli Perkins, "author, lecturer and 
humorist, was born in Eaton, New York, 
September 7, 1839. He was the son of 
John Landon and grandson of Rufus Lan- 
don, a revolutionary soldier from Litchfield 
county, Connecticut. Melville was edu- 
cated at the district school and neighboring 
academy, where he was prepared for the 
sophomore class at Madison University. He 
passed two years at the latter, when he was 
admitted to Union College, and graduated 
in the class of 1861, receiving the degree of 
A. M., in 1862. He was, at once, ap- 
pointed to a position in the treasury depart- 
ment at Washington. This being about the 
time of the breaking out of the svar. and 
before the appearance of any Union troops 
at the capital, he assisted in the organiza- 
tion of the " Clay Battalion," of Washing- 
ton. Leaving his clerkship some time later, 
he took up duties on the staff of General A. 
L. Chetlain, who was in command at Mem- 
phis. In 1864 he resigned from the army 
and engaged in cotton planting in Arkansa*; 



110 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



and Louisiana. In 1867 he went abroad, 
making the tour of Europe, traversing Rus- 
sia. While in the latter country his old 
commander of the " Clay Battalion," Gen- 
eral Cassius M. Clay, then United States 
minister at St. Petersburg, made him secre- 
tary of legation. In 1 87 1, on returning to 
America, he published a history of the 
Franco-Prussian war, and followed it with 
numerous humorous writings for the public 
press under the name of "Eli Perkins," 
which, with his regular contributions to the 
" Commercial Advertiser," brought him into 
notice, and spread his reputation as a hu- 
morist throughout the country. He also pub- 
lished "Saratoga in 1891," "Wit, Humor 
and Pathos, " ' ' Wit and Humor of the Age, " 
" Kings of Platform and Pulpit, "" Thirty 
Years of Wit and Humor," " Fun and Fact," 
and " China and Japan." 

LEWIS CASS, one of the most prom- 
inent statesman and party leaders of his 
day, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, 
October 9, 1782. He studied law, and hav- 
ing removed toZanesville, Ohio, commenced 
the practice of that profession in 1802. He 
entered the service of the American govern- 
ment in 1812 and was made a colonel in 
the army under General William Hull, and 
on the surrender of Fort Maiden by that 
officer was held as a prisoner. Being re- 
leased in 181 3, he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general and in 18 14 ap- 
pointed governor of Michigan Territory. 
After he had held that office for some 
sixteen years, negotiating, in the meantime, 
many treaties with the Indians, General 
Cass was made secretary of war in the cabi- 
net of President Jackson, in 1831. He was, 
in 1836, appointed minister to France, 
which office he held for six years. In 1844 
he was elected United States senator from 



Michigan. In 1846 General Cass opposed 
the Wilmot Proviso, which was an amend- 
ment to a bill for the purchase of land from 
Mexico, which provided that in any of the 
territory acquired from that power slavery 
should not exist. For this and other reasons 
he was nominated as Democratic candidate 
for the presidency of the United States in 
1848, but was defeated by General Zachary 
Taylor, the Whig candidate, having but 
one hundred and thirty-seven electoral votes 
to his opponent's one hundred and sixty- 
three. In 1849 General Cass was re-elected 
to the senate of the United States, and in 
1854 supported Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska 
bill. He became secretary of state in 
March, 1857, under President Buchanan, 
but resigned that office in December, i860. 
He died June 17, 1866. The published 
works of Lewis Cass, while not numerous, 
are well written and display much ability. 
He was one of the foremost men of his day 
in the political councils of the Democratic 
party, and left a reputation for high probity 
and honor behind him. 



DEWITT CLINTON.— Probably there 
were but few men who were so popular 
in their time, or who have had so much in- 
fluence in moulding events as the individual 
whose name honors the head of this article. 
De Witt Clinton was the son of General 
James Clinton, and a nephew of Governor 
George Clinton, who was the fourth vice- 
president of the United States. He was a 
native of Orange county. New York, born at 
Little Britain, March 2, 1769. He gradu- 
ated from Columbia College, in his native 
state, in 1796, and took up the study of law. 
In 1790 he became private secretary to his 
uncle, then governor of New York. He en- 
tered public life as a Republican or anti- 
Federalist, and was elected to the lower 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Ill 



house of the state assembly in 1797, and the 
senate of that body in 1798. At that time 
he was looked on as " the most rising man 
in the Union." In 1801 he was elected to 
the United States senate. In 1803 he was 
appointed by the governor and council 
mayor of the city of New York, then a 
very important and powerful office. Hav- 
ing been re-appointed, he held the office 
of mayor for nearly eleven years, and 
rendered great service to that city. Mr. 
Clinton served as lieutenant-governor of 
the state of New York, 1811-13, and 
was one of the commissioners appointed 
to examine and survey a route for a canal 
from the Hudson river to Lake Erie. Dif- 
fering with President Madison, in relation to 
the war, in 1812, he was nominated for the 
presidency against that gentleman, by a 
coalition party called the Clintonians, many 
of whom were Federalists. Clinton received 
eight-nine electoral votes. His course at 
this time impaired his popularity for a time. 
He was removed from the mayoralty in 
1 8 14, and retired to private life. In 18 15 
he wrote a powerfur argument for the con- 
struction of the Erie canal, then a great and 
beneficent work of which he was the prin- 
cipal promoter. This was in the shape of 
a memorial to the legislature, which, in 
18 1 7, passed a bill authorizing the construc- 
tion of that canal. The same year he was 
elected governor of New York, almost unani- 
mously, notwithstanding the opposition of 
a few who pronounced the scheme of the 
canal visionary. He was re-elected governor 
in 1820. He was at this time, also, presi- 
dent of the canal commissioners. He de- 
clined a re-election to the gubernatorial 
chair in 1822 and was removed from his 
place on the canal board two years later. 
But he was triumphantly elected to the of- 
fice of governor that fall, and his pet project, 



the Erie canal, was finished the next year. 
He was re-elected governor in 1826, but 
died while holding that office, February 11, 



AARON BURR, one of the many brilliant 
figures on the political stage in the early 
days of America, was born at Newark, New 
Jersey, February 6, 1756. He was the son 
of Aaron and Esther Burr, the former the 
president of the College of New Jersey, and 
the latter a daughter of Jonathan Edwards, 
who had been president of the same educa- 
tional institution. Young Burr graduated 
at Princeton in 1772. In 1775 he joined 
the provincial army at Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts. For a time, he served as a private 
soldier, but later was made an aide on the 
staff of the unfortunate General Montgom- 
ery, in the Quebec expedition. Subse- / 
quently he was on the staffs of Arnold, Put- 
nam and Washington, the latter of whom 
he disliked. He was promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel and commanded a 
brigade on Monmouth's bloody field. In 
•779. on account of feeble health. Colonel 
Burr resigned from the army. He took up 
the practice of law in Albany, New York, 
but subsequently removed to New York City. 
In 1789 he became attorney-general of that 
state. In 1791 he was chosen to represent 
the state of New York in the United States 
senate and held that position for six years. 
In 1800 he and Thomas Jefferson were both 
candidates for the presidency, and there 
being a tie in the electoral college, each 
having seventy-three votes, the choice was 
left to congress, who gave the first place to 
Jefferson and made Aaron Burr vice-presi- 
dent, as the method then was. In 1804 Mr. 
Burr and his great rival, Alexander Hamil- 
ton, met in a duel, which resulted in the 
death of the latter. Burr losing thereby con- 



112 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



siderable political and social influence. He 
soon embarked in a wild attempt upon 
Mexico, and as was asserted, upon the 
southwestern territories of the United 
States. He was tried for treason at 
Richmond, Virginia, in 1807, but acquitted, 
and to avoid importunate creditors, fled to 
Europe. After a time, in 1812, he returned 
to New York, where he practiced law, and 
where he died, September 14, 1836. A man 
of great ability, brilliant and popular talents, 
his influence was destroyed by his unscrupu- 
lous political actions and immoral private 
life. 

ALBERT GALLATIN, one of the most 
distinguished statesmen of the early 
days of the republic, was born at Geneva, 
Switzerland, January 29, 1761. He was 
the son of Jean de Gallatin and Sophia A. 
Rolaz du Rosey Gallatin, representatives of 
an old patrician family. Albert Gallatin 
was left an orphan at an early age, and was 
educated under the care of friends of his 
parents. He graduated from the University 
of Geneva in 1779, and declining employ- 
ment under one of the sovereigns of Ger- 
many, came to the struggling colonies, land- 
ing in Boston July 14, 1780. Shortly after 
his arrival he proceeded to Maine, where he 
served as a volunteer under Colonel Allen. 
He made advances to the government for 
the support of the American troops, and in 
November, 17S0, was placed in command 
of a small fort at Passamaquoddy, defended 
by a force of militia, volunteers and Indians. 
In 1783 he was professor of the French 
language at Harvard University. A year 
later, having received his patrimony from 
Europe, he purchased large tracts of land 
in western Virginia, but was prevented by 
the Indians from forming the large settle- 
ment he proposed, and, in 1786, purchased 



a farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 
In 1789 he was a member of the convention 
to amend the constitution of that state, and 
united himself with the Republican party, 
the head of which was Thomas Jefferson. 
The following year he was elected to the 
legislature of Pennsylvania, to which he was 
subsequently re-elected. In 1793 he was 
elected to the United States senate, but 
could not take his seat on account of not 
having been a citizen long enough. In i 794 
Mr. Gallatin was elected to the representa- 
tive branch of congress, in which he served 
three terms. He also took an important 
position in the suppression of the ' ' whiskey 
insurrection." In 1801, on the accession of 
Jefferson to the presidency, Mr. Gallatin 
was appointed secretary of the treasury. 
In 1809 Mr. Madison offered him the posi- 
tion of secretary of state, but he declined, 
and continued at the head of the treasury 
until 181 2, a period of twelve years. He 
exercised a great influence on the other de- 
partments and in the general administration, 
especially in the matter of financial reform, 
and recommended measures for taxation, 
etc., which were passed by congress, and be- 
came laws May 24, 1 8 1 3. The same year he 
was sent as an envoy extraordinary to Rus- 
sia, which had offered to mediate between 
this country and Great Britain, but the lat- 
ter country refusing the interposition of 
another power, and agreeing to treat di- 
rectly with the United States, in 18 14, at 
Ghent, Mr. Gallatin, in connection with his 
distinguished colleagues, negotiated and 
signed the treaty of peace. In 181 5, in 
conjunction with Messrs. Adams and Clay, 
he signed, at London, a commercial treaty 
between the two countries. In 18 16, de- 
clining his old post at the head of the treas- 
ury, Mr. Gallatin was sent as minister to 
France, where he remained until 1823. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



113 



After a year spent in England as envoy ex- 
traordinary, he took up his residence in New 
York, and from that time held no public 
office. In 1830 he was chosen president of 
the council of the University of New York. 
He was, in 1831, made president of the 
National bank, which position he resigned 
in 1839. He died August 12, 1849. 



MILLARD FILLMORE, the thirteenth 
president of the United States, was 
born of New England parentage in Summer 
Hill, Cayuga county, New York, January 7, 
1800. His school education was very lim- 
ited, but he occupied his leisure hours in 
study. He worked in youth upon his fa- 
ther's farm in his native county, and at the 
age of fifteen was apprenticed to a wool 
carder and cloth dresser. Four years later 
he was induced by Judge Wood to enter his 
office at Montville, New York, and take up 
the study of law. This warm friend, find- 
ing young Fillmore destitute of means, 
loaned him money, but the latter, not wish- 
ing to incur a heavy debt, taught school 
during part of the time and in this and other 
ways helped maintain himself. In 1822 he 
removed to Buffalo, New York, and the year 
following, being admitted to the bar, he 
commenced the practice of his profession 
at East Aurora, in the same state. Here 
he remained until 1830, having, in the 
meantime, been admitted to practice in the 
supreme court, when he returned to Buffalo, 
where he became the partner of S. G. 
Haven and N. K. Hall. He entered poli- 
tics and served in the state legislature from 
1829 to 1832. He was in congress in 1833- 
35 and in 1837-41, where he proved an 
active and useful member, favoring the 
views of John Quincy Adams, then battling 
almost alone the slave-holding party in na- 
tional politics, and in most of public ques- 



tions acted with the Whig party. While 
chairman of the committee of ways and 
means he took a leading part in draughting 
the tariff bill of 1842. In 1844 Mr. Fill- 
more was the Whig candidate for governor 
of New York. In 1847 he was chosen 
comptroller of the state, and abandoning 
his practice and profession removed to Al- 
bany. In 1 848 he was elected vice presi- 
dent on the ticket with General Zachary 
Taylor, and they were inaugurated the fol- 
lowing March. On the death of the presi- 
dent, July 9, 1850, Mr. Fillmore was in- 
ducted into that office. The great events 
of his administration were the passage of 
the famous compromise acts of 1850, and 
the sending out of the Japan expedition of 
1852. 

March 4, 1853, having served one term. 
President Fillmore retired from office, and 
in 1855 went to Europe, where he received 
marked attention. On returning home, in 
1856, he was nominated for the presidency 
by the Native American or " Know-Noth- 
ing" party, but was defeated, James Buch- 
anan being the successful candidate. 

Mr. Fillmore ever afterward lived in re- 
tirement. During the conflict of Civil war 
he was mostly silent. It was generally sup- 
posed, however, that his sympathy was with 
the southern confederacy. He kept aloof 
from the conflict without any words of cheer 
to the one party or the other. For this rea- 
son he was forgotten by both. He died of 
paralysis, in Buffalo, New York, March 8, 
•874- 

PETER F. ROTHERMEL, one of Amer- 
ica's greatest and best- known historical 
painters, was born in Luzerne county, Penn- 
sylvania, July 8, 18 1 7, and was of German 
ancestry. He received his earlier education 
in his native county, and in Philadelphia 



114 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



learned the profession of land surveying. 
But a strong bias toward art drew him away 
and he soon opened a studio where he did 
portrait painting. This soon gave place to 
historical painting, he having discovered the 
bent of his genius in that direction. Be- 
sides the two pictures in the Capitol at 
Washington — ' 'De Soto Discovering the Mis- 
sissippi" and "Patrick Henry Before the 
Virginia House of Burgesses" — Rothermel 
painted many others, chief among which 
are: "Columbus Before Queen Isabella," 
"Martyrs of the Colosseum," "Cromwell 
Breaking Up Service in an English Church," 
and the famous picture of the "Battle 
of Gettysburg." The last named was 
painted for the state of Pennsylvania, for 
which Rothermel received the sum of $25,- 
000, and which it took him four years to 
plan and to paint. It represents the portion 
of that historic field held by the First corps, 
an exclusively Pennsylvania body of men, 
and was selected by Rothermel for that 
reason. For many years most of his time 
was spent in Italy, only returning for short 
periods. He died at Philadelphia, August 
16, 1895. 

EDMUND KIRBY SMITH, one of the 
distinguished leaders upon the side of the 
south in the late Civil war, was born at St. 
Augustine, Florida, in 1824. After receiv- 
ing the usual education he was appointed to 
the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, from which he graduated in 1845 and 
entered the army as second lieutenant of 
infantry. During the Mexican war he was 
made first lieutenant and captain for gallant 
conduct at Cerro Gordo and Contreras. 
From 1849 to 1852 he was assistant pro- 
fessor of mathematics at West Point. He 
was transferred to the Second cavalry with 
the rank of captain in 1855, served on the 



frontier, and was wounded in a fight with 
Comanche Indians in Texas, May 13, 1859. 
In January, 1861, he became major of his 
regiment, but resigned April 9th to fol- 
low the fortunes of the southern cause. 
He was appointed brigadier-general in the 
Confederate army and served in Virginia. 
At the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, 
he arrived on the field late in the day, but 
was soon disabled by a wound. He was 
made major-general in 1862, and being trans- 
ferred to East Tennessee, was given com- 
mand of that department. Under General 
Braxton Bragg he led the advance in the 
invasion of Kentucky and defeated the Union 
forces at Richmond, Kentucky, August 30, 

1862, and advanced to Frankfort. Pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, he 
was engaged at the battle of Perryville, 
October 10, and in the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, December 31, 1862, and January 3, 

1863. He was soon made general, the 
highest rank in the service, and in com- 
mand of the trans-Mississippi department 
opposed General N. P. Banks in the famous 
Red River expedition, taking part in the 
battle of Jenkins Ferry, April 30, 1864, and 
other engagements of that eventful cam- 
paign. He was the last to surrender the 
forces under his command, which he did 
May 26, 1865. After the close of the war 
he located in Tennessee, where he died 
March 28, 1893. 



JOHN JAMES INGALLS, a famous 
American statesman, was born Decem- 
ber 29, 1833, at Middleton, Massachusetts, 
where he was reared and received his early 
education. He went to Kansas in 1858 
and joined the free-soil army, and a year 
after his arrival he was r member of the his- 
torical Wyandotte convention, which drafted 
a free-state constitution. In i860 he was 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



115 



made secretary of the territorial council, 
and in 1861 was secretary of the state sen- 
ate. The next year he was duly elected to 
the legitimate state senate from Atchison, 
where he had made his home. From that 
time he was the leader of the radical Re- 
publican element in the state. He became 
the editor of the " Atchison Champion " in 
1863, which was a "red-hot free-soil Re- 
publican organ." In 1862 he was the anti- 
Lane candidate for lieutenant-governor, but 
was defeated. He was elected to the Unit- 
ed States senate to succeed Senator Pom- 
eroy, and took his seat in the forty-third 
congress and served until the fiftieth. In 
the forty-ninth congress he succeeded Sen- 
ator Sherman as president pro teni., which 
position he held through the fiftieth con- 
gress. 

BENJAMIN WEST, the greatest of the 
early American painters, was of Eng- 
lish descent and Quaker parentage. He was 
born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1738. 
From what source he inherited his genius it 
is hard to imagine, since the tenets and 
tendencies of the Quaker faith were not cal- 
culated to encourage the genius of art, but 
at the age of nine years, with no suggestion 
except that of inspiration, we find him choos- 
ing his model from life, and laboring over 
his first work calculated to attract public 
notice. It was a representation of a sleep- 
ing child in its cradle. The brush with 
which he painted it was made of hairs 
which he plucked from the cat's tail, and 
the colors were obtained from the war paints 
of friendly Indians, his mother's indigo bag, 
and ground chalk and charcoal, and the juice 
of berries, but there were touches in the rude 
production that he declared in later days 
were a credit to his best works. The pic- 
ture attracted notice, for a council was 



called at once to pass upon the boy's con- 
duct in thus infringing the laws of the so- 
ciety. There were judges among them who 
saw in his genius a rare gift and their wis- 
dom prevailed, and the child was given per- 
mission to follow his inclination. He studied 
under a painter named Williams, and then 
spent some years as a portrait painter with 
advancing success. At the age of twenty- 
two he went to Italy, and not until he had 
perfected himself by twenty-three years of 
labor in that paradise of art was he satisfied 
to turn his face toward home. However, he 
stopped at London, and decided to settle 
there, sending to America for his intended 
bride to join him. Though the Revolution- 
ary war was raging, King George III showed 
the American artist the highest considera- 
tion and regard. His remuneration from 
works for royalty amounted to five thou- 
sand dollars per year for thirty years. 

West's best known work in America is, 
perhaps, " The Death of General Wolf." 
West was one of the thirty-six original mem- 
bers of the Royal academy and succeeded 
Joshua Reynolds as president, which posi- 
tion he held until his death. His early 
works were his best, as he ceased to display 
originality in his later life, conventionality 
having seriously affected his efforts. He 
died in 1820. 



SAMUEL PORTER JONES, the famous 
(ieorgia evangelist, was born October 
16, 1847, in Chambers county, Alabama. 
He did not attend school regularly during 
his boyhood, but worked on a farm, and 
went to school at intervals, on account of 
ill health. His father removed to Carters- 
ville, Georgia, when Mr. Jones was a small 
boy. He quit school at the age of nineteen 
and never attended college. The war inter- 
fered with his education, which was intended 



116 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



to prepare him for the legal profession. 
After the war he renewed his preparation 
for college, but was compelled to desist from 
such a course, as his health failed him en- 
tirely. Later on, however, he still pursued 
his legal studies and was admitted to the 
bar. Soon after this event he went to Dal- 
las, Paulding county, Georgia, where he was 
engaged in the practice of his profession, 
and in a few months removed to Cherokee 
county, Alabama, where he taught school. 
In 1869 he returned to Cartersville, Georgia, 
and arrived in time to see his father die. 
Immediately after this event he applied for 
a license to preach, and went to Atlanta, 
Georgia, to the meeting of the North Geor- j 
gia Conference of the M. E. church south, 
which received him on trial. He became 
an evangelist of great note, and traveled 
extensively, delivering his sermons in an 
inimitable style that made him very popular 
with the masses, his methods of conducting 
revivals being unique and original and his 
preaching practical and incisive. 



SHELBY MOORE CULLOM, a national 
character in political affairs and for 
many years United States senator from 
Illinois, was born November 22, 1829, at 
Monticello, Kentucky. He came with his 
parents to Illinois in 1830 and spent his early 
yearsonafarm, but havingformed the purpose 
of devoting himself to the lawyer's profession 
he spent two years study at the Rock River 
seminary atMount Morris, Illinois. In 1853 
Mr. Cullom entered the law office of Stuart 
and Edwards at Springfield, Illinois, and two 
years later he began the independent prac- 
tice of law in that city. He took an active 
interest in politics and was soon elected city 
attorney of Springfield. In 1856 he was 
elected a member of the Illinois house of 
representatives. He identified himself with 



the newly formed Republican party and in 
i860 was re-elected to the legislature of his 
state, in which he was chosen speaker of the 
house. In 1862 President Lincoln appoint- 
ed a commission to pass upon and examine 
the accounts of the United States quarter- 
masters and disbursing officers, composed 
as follows: Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois; 
Charles A. Dana, of New York, and 
Gov. Boutwell, of Massachusetts. Mr. 
Cullom was nominated for congress in 
1864, and was elected by a majority of 
1,785. In the house of representatives he 
became an active and aggressive member, 
was chairman of the committee on territories 
and served in congress until 1868. Mr. 
Cullom was returned to the state legislature, 
of which he was chosen speaker in 1872, 
and was re-elected in 1874. In 1876 he 
was elected governor of Illinois and at the 
end of his term he was chosen for a second 
term. He was elected United States senator 
in 1883 and twice re-elected. 



RICHARD JORDAN CATLING, an 
American inventor of much note, was 
born in Hertford county, North Carolina. 
September 12, 1 818. At an early age he 
gave promise of an inventive genius. The 
first emanation from his mind was the 
invention of a screw for the propulsion 01 
water craft, but on application for a 
patent, found that he was forestalled but 
a short time by John Ericsson. Subse- 
quently he invented a machine for sowing 
wheat in drills, which was used to a great 
extent throughout the west. He then stud- 
ied medicine, and in 1847-8 attended 
lectures at the Indiana Medical College 
at Laporte, and in 1848-9 at the Ohio 
Medical College at Cincinnati. He later 
discovered a method of transmitting power 
through the medium of compressed air. A 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIT 



119 



double-acting hemp break was also invented 
by him. The invention, however, by which 
Dr. Catling became best known was the 
famous machine gun which bears his name. 
This he brought to light in 1861-62, and on 
the first trial of it, in the spring of the latter 
year, two hundred shots per minute were 
fired from it. After making some improve- 
ments which increased its efficiency, it was 
submitted to severe trials by our govern- 
ment at the arsenals at Frankfort, Wash- 
ington and Fortress Monroe, and at other 
points. The gun was finally adopted by 
our government, as well as by that of Great 
Britain, Russia and others. 



BENJAMIN RYAN TILLMAN, who won 
a national fame in politics, was born 
August II, 1847, in Edgefield county. South 
Carolina. He received his education in the 
Oldfield school, where he acquired the 
rudiments of Latin and Greek, in addition 
to a good English education. He left school 
in 1864 to join the Confederate army, but 
was prevented from doing so by a severe 
illness, which resulted in the loss of an eye. 
In 1867 he removed to Florida, but returned 
in 1868, when he was married and devoted 
himself to farming. He was chairman of 
the Democratic organization of his county, 
but e.xcept a few occasional services he took 
no active part in politics then. Gradually, 
however, his attention was directed to the 
depressed condition of the farming interests 
of his" state, and in August, 1885, before a 
joint meeting of the agricultural society and 
state grange at Bennettsville, he made a 
speech in which he set forth the cause of 
agricultural depression and urged measures 
of relief. From his active interest in the 
farming class he was styled the " Agricult- 
ural Moses." He advocated an industrial 
school for women and for a separate agri- 



cultural college, and in 1887 he secured a 
modification in the final draft of the will of 
Thomas G. Clemson, which resulted in the 
erection of the Clemson Agricultural Col- 
lege at Fort Hill. In 1890 he was chosen 
governor on the Democratic ticket, and 
carried the election by a large majority. 
Governor Tillman was inaugurated Decem- 
ber 4, 1890. Mr. Tillman was next elected 
to the United States senate from South 
Carolina, and gained a national reputation 
by his fervid oratory. 



GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE.— 
No journalist of America was so cele- 
brated in his time for the wit, spice, and 
vigor of his writing, as the gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch. From Atlantic to 
Pacific he was well known by his witticism 
as well as by strength and force of his edi- 
torials. He was a native of Preston, Con- 
necticut, born December 18, 1802. After 
laying the foundation of a liberal education 
in his youth, he entered Brown University, 
from which he was graduated in 1823. Tak- 
ing up the study of law, he was admitted to 
the bar in 1829. During part of his time 
he was editor of the " New England Weekly 
Review," a position which he relinquished 
to go south and was succeeded by John 
Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker poet. 

On arriving in Louisville, whither he 
had gone to gather items for his history of 
Henry Clay, Mr. Prentice became identified 
with the " Louisville Journal," which, under 
his hands, became one of the leading Whig 
newspapers of the country. At the head of 
this he remained until the day of his death. 
This latter event occurred January 22, 1870, 
and he was succeeded in the control of the 
" Journal " by Colonel Henry Watterson. 

Mr. Prentice was an author of consider- 
able celebrity, chief among his works being 



120 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



"The Life of Henry Clay," and "Prentice- 
ana," a collection of wit and humor, that 
passed through several large editions. 



SAM. HOUSTON, in the opinion of some 
critics one of the most remarkable men 
who ever figured in American history, was a 
native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, born 
March 2, 1793. Early in life he was left in 
destitute circumstances by the death of his 
father, and, with his mother, removed to 
Tennessee, then almost a boundless wilder- 
ness. He received but little education, 
spending the most of his time among the 
Cherokee Indians. Part of the time of his 
residence there Houston acted as clerk for a 
trader and also taught one of the primitive 
schools of the day. In 1813 he enlisted as 
private in the United States army and was 
engaged under General Jackson in the war 
with the Creek Indians. When peace was 
made Houston was a lieutenant, but he re- 
signed his commission and commenced the 
study of law at Nashville. After holding 
some minor offices he was elected member 
of congress from Tennessee. This was in 
1823. He retained this office until 1827, 
when he was chosen governor of the state. 
In 1829, resigning that office before the ex- 
piration of his term, Sam Houston removed 
to Arkansas, and made his home among the 
Cherokees, becoming the agent of that 
tribe and representing their interests at 
Washington. On a visit to Texas, just 
prior to the election of delegates to a con- 
vention called for the purpose of drawing 
up a constitution previous to the admission 
of the state into the Mexican union, he was 
unanimously chosen a delegate. The con- 
vention framed the constitution, but, it be- 
ing rejected by the government of Mexico, 
and the petition for admission to the Con- 
federacy denied and the Texans told by the 



president of the Mexican union to give up 
their arms, bred trouble. It was determined 
to resist this demand. A military force was 
soon organized, with General Houston at 
the head of it. War was prosecuted with 
great vigor, and with varying success, but 
at the battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, 
the Mexicans were defeated and their leader 
and president, Santa Anna, captured. Texas 
was then proclaimed an independent repub- 
lic, and in October of the same year Hous- 
ton was inaugurated president. On the ad- 
mission of Texas to the Federal Union, in 
1845, Houston was elected senator, and 
held that position for twelve years. Oppos- 
ing the idea of secession, he retired from 
political life in 1861, and died at Hunts- 
ville, Texas, July 25, 1863. 



ELI WHITNEY, the inventor of the cot- 
ton-gin, was born in Westborough, Mas- 
sachusetts, December 8, 1765. After his 
graduation from Yale College, he went to 
Georgia, where he studied law, and lived 
with the family of the widow of General 
Nathaniel Greene. At that time the only 
way known to separate the cotton seed from 
the fiber was by hand, making it extremely 
slow and expensive, and for this reason cot- 
ton was little cultivated in this country. 
Mrs. Greene urged the inventive Whitney 
to devise some means for accomplishing 
this work by machinery. This he finally 
succeeded in doing, but he was harassed by 
attempts to defraud him by those who had 
stolen his ideas. He at last formed a part- 
nership with a man named Miller, and they 
began the manufacture of the machines at 
Washington, Georgia, in 1795. The suc- 
cess of his invention was immediate, and the 
legislature of South Carolina voted the sum 
of $50,000 for his idea. This sum he had 
great difficulty in collecting, after years of 



COMPEXDIL \[ OF BIOGRA P IIT. 



litigation and delay. North Carolina al- 
lowed him a royalty, and the same was 
agreed to by Tennessee, but was never paid. 

While his fame rests upon the invention 
of the cotton-gin, his fortune came from his 
improvements in the manufacture and con- 
struction of firearms. In 1798 the United 
States government gave him a contract for 
this purpose, and he accumulated a fortune 
from it. The town of Whitneyville, Con- 
necticut, was founded , by this fortune. 
Whitney died at New Haven, Connecticut, 
January 8, 1825. 

The cotton-gin made the cultivation of 
cotton profitable, and this led to rapid in- 
troduction of slavery in the south. His in- 
vention thus affected our national history in 
a manner little dreamed of by the inventor. 



LESTER WALLACR' (John Lester Wal- 
lack), for many years the leading light 
comedian upon the American stage, was 
the son of James W. Wallack, the " Brum- 
mell of the Stage." Both father and son 
were noted for their comeliness of feature 
and form. Lester Wallack was born in 
New York, January i, 18 19. He received 
his education in England, and made his first 
appearance on the stage in 1848 at the New 
Broadway theater, New York. He acted 
light comedy parts, and also occasion- 
ally in romantic plays like Monte Cristo, 
which play made him his fame. He went 
to England and played under management 
of such men as Hamblinand Burton, and then 
returned to New York with his father, who 
opened the first Wallack's theater, at the 
corner of Broome and Broadway, in 1852. 
The location was afterward changed to 
Thirteenth and Broadway, in 1861, and 
later to its present location, Broadway and 
Thirteenth, in 1882. The elder Wallack 
died in 1 864, after which Lester assumed 



management, jointly with Theodore Moss. 
Lester Wallack was commissioned in the 
queen's service while in England, and there 
he also married a sister to the famous artist, 
the late John Everett Millais. While Les- 
ter Wallack never played in the interior 
cities, his name was as familiar to. the public 
as that of our greatest stars. He died Sep- 
tember 6, 1888, at Stamford, Connecticut. 



GEORGE MORTIMER PULLMAN, 
the palace car magnate, inventor, 
multi-millionaire and manufacturer, may 
well be classed among the remarkable 
self-made men of the century. He was 
born March 3, 1831, in Chautauqua county. 
New York. His parents were poor, and 
his education was limited to what he could 
learn of the rudimentary branches in the 
district school. At the age of fourteen he 
went to work as clerk for a country mer- 
chant. He kept this place three years, 
studying at night. When seventeen he 
went to Albion, New York, and worked for 
his brother, who kept a cabinet shop there. 
F"ive years later he went into business for 
himself as contractor for moving buildings 
along the line of the Erie canal, which was 
then being widened by the state, and was 
successful in thii. In 1858 he removed to 
Chicago and engaged in the business of 
moving and raising houses. The work was 
novel there then and he was quite success- 
ful. About this time the discomfort attend- 
ant on traveling at night attracted his at- 
tention. He reasoned that the public would 
gladly pay for comfortable sleeping accom- 
modations. A few sleeping cars were in 
use at that time, but they were wretchedly 
crude, uncomfortable affairs. In 1859 he 
bought two old day coaches from the Chi- 
i cago&.-Mton road and remodeled them some- 
[ thing like the general plan of the sleeping- 



122 



COAfPEXniU.U OF BIOGRAPHY. 



cars of the present day. They were put 
into service on the Chicago & Alton and 
became popular at once. In 1863 he built 
the first sleeping-car resembling the Pullman 
cars of to-day. It cost $18,000 and was 
the "Pioneer." After that the Pullman 
Palace Car Company prospered. It had 
shops at different cities. In 1880 the Town 
of Pullman was founded by Mr. Pullman 
and his company, and this model manufac- 
turing community is known all over the 
world. Mr. Pullman died October 19, 1897. 



JAMES E. B. STUART, the most famous 
cavalry leader of the Southern Confed- 
eracy during the Civil war, was born in 
Patrick county, Virginia, in 1833. On 
graduating from the United States Military 
Academy, West Point, in 1854, he was as- 
signed, as second lieutenant, to a regiment 
of mounted rifles, receiving his commission 
in October. In March, 1855, he was trans- 
ferred to the newly organized First cavalry, 
and was promoted to first lieutenant the 
following December, and to captain April 
22, 1861. Taking the side of the south, 
May 14, 1 86 1, he was made colonel of a 
Virginia cavalry regiment, and served as 
such at Bull Run. In September, 1861, he 
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-gen- 
eral, and major-general early in 1862. On 
the reorganization of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, in June of the latter year, when 
R. E. Lee assumed command, General Stu- 
art made a reconnoissance with one thou- 
sand five hundred cavalry and four guns, 
and in two days made the circuit of McClel- 
lan's army, producing much confusion and 
gathering useful information, and losing but 
one man. August 25, 1862, he captured 
part of Pope's headquarters' train, including 
that general's private baggage and official 
correspondence, and the next night, in a 



descent upon Manasses, capturing immense 
quantities of commissary and quartermaster 
store, eight guns, a number of locomotives 
and a few hundred prisoners. During the 
invasion of Maryland, in September, 1862, 
General Stuart acted as rearguard, resisting 
the advance of the Federal cavalry at South 
Mountain, and at Antietam commanded the 
Confederate left. Shortly after he crossed 
the Potomac, making a raid as far as Cham- 
bersburg, Pennsylvania. In the battle of 
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Gen- 
eral Stuart's command was on the extreme 
right of the Confederate line. At Chancel- 
lorsville, after "Stonewall " Jackson's death 
and the wounding of General A. P. Hill, 
General Stuart assumed command of Jack- 
son's corps, which he led in the severe con- 
test of May 3, 1863. Early in June, the 
same year, a large force of cavalry was 
gathered under Stuart, at Culpepper, Vir- 
ginia, which, advancing to join General Lee 
in his invasion of Pennsylvania, was met at 
Brandy Station, by two divisions of cavalry 
and two brigades of infantry, under General 
John I. Gregg, and driven back. During the 
movements of the Gettysburg campaign he 
rendered important services. In May, 1864, 
General Stuart succeeded, by a detour,- in 
placing himself between Richmond and 
Sheridan's advancing column, and at Yellow 
Tavern was attacked in force. During the 
fierce conflict that ensued General Stuart 
was mortally wounded, and died at Rich- 
mond, May 1 1, 1864. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth 
president of the United States — from 
1853 until 1857 — was born November 23, 
1804, at Hillsboro, New Hampshire. He 
came of old revolutionary stock and his 
father was a governor of the state. Mr. 
Pierce entered Bowdoin College in 1820, 



COMPENDIi'M OF BTOGRArHT. 



128 



was graduated in 1824, and took up the 
study of law in the office of Judge Wood- 
bury, and later he was admitted to the bar. 
Mr. Pierce practiced his profession with 
varying successes in his native town and 
also in Concord. He was elected to the 
state legislature in 1833 and served in that 
body until 1837, the last two years of his 
term serving as speaker of the house. He 
was elected to the United States senate in 
1837, just as President Van Buren began 
his term of office. Mr. Pierce served until 
1842, and many times during Polk's term he 
declined important public offices. During 
the war with Mexico Mr. Pierce was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general, and he embarked 
with a portion of his troops at Newport, 
Rhode Island, May 27, 1847, and went with 
them to the field of battle. He served 
through the war and distinguished himself 
by his skill, bravery and excellent judg- 
ment. When he reached his home in his 
native state he was received coldly by the 
opponents of the war, but the advocates of 
the war made up for his cold reception by 
the enthusiastic welcome which they ac- 
corded him. Mr. Pierce resumed the prac- 
tice of his profession, and in the political 
strife that followed he gave his support to 
the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic 
party. The Democratic convention met in 
Baltimore, June 12, 1852, to nominate a 
candidate for the presidency, and they con- 
tinued in session four days, and in thirty- 
five ballotings no one had secured the re- 
quisite two-thirds vote. Mr. Pierce had not 
received a vote as yet, until the Virginia 
delegation brought his name forward, and 
finally on the forty-ninth ballot Mr. Pierce 
received 282 votes and all the other candi- 
dates eleven. His opponent on the Whig 
ticket was General Winfield Scott, who 
only received the electoral votes of four 



states. Mr. Pierce was inaugurated presi- 
dent of the United States March 4, 1853, 
with W. R. King as vice president, and the 
following named gentlemen were afterward 
chosen to fill the positions in the cabinet: 
William S. Marcy, James Guthrie, Jeffer- 
son Davis, James C. Dobbin, Robert Mc- 
Clelland, James Campbell and Caleb Gush- 
ing. During the administration of President 
Pierce the Missouri compromise law was 
repealed, and all the territories of the Union 
were thrown open to slavery, and the dis- 
turbances in Kansas occurred. In 1857 he 
was succeeded in the presidency by James 
Buchanan, and retired to his home in Con- 
cord, New Hampshire. He always cherished 
his principles of slavery, and at the out- 
break of the rebellion he was an adherent of 
the cause of the Confederacy. He died at 
Concord, New Hampshire, October 8, 1869. 



JAMES B. WEAVER, well known as a 
leader of the Greenback and later of the 
Populist party, was born at Dayton, Ohio, 
June 12, 1833. He received his earlier 
education in the schools of his native town, 
and entered the law department of the Ohio 
University, at Cincinnati, from which he 
graduated in 1854. Removing to the grow- 
ing state of Iowa, he became connected 
with "The Iowa Tribune," at the state 
capital, Des Moines, as one of its editors. 
He afterward practiced law and was elected 
district attorney for the second judicial dis- 
trict of Iowa, on the Republican ticket in 
1 866, which office he held for a short time. 
In 1 867 Mr. Weaver was appointed assessor 
of internal revenue for the first district of 
Iowa, and filled that position until some- 
time in 1873. He was elected and served 
in the forty-sixth congress. In 1880 the 
National or Greenback party in convention 
at Chicago, nominated James B. Weaver as 



124 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



its candidate for tiie presidency. By a 
union of the Democratic and National 
parties in his district, he was elected to the 
forty-ninth congress, and re-elected to the 
same office in the fall of 1 886. Mr. Weaver 
was conceded to be a very fluent speaker, 
and quite active in all political work. On 
July 4, 1892, at the National convention 
of the People's party, General James B. 
Weaver was chosen as the candidate for 
president of that organization, and during 
the campaign that followed, gained a na- 
tional reputation. 



ANTHONY JOSEPH DREXEL, one 
of the leading bankers and financiers of 
the United States, was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in 1826, and was the son of 
Francis M. Drexel, who had established 
the large banking institution of Drexel & 
Co., so well known. The latter was a native 
of Dornbirn, in the Austrian Tyrol. He 
studied languages and fine arts at Turin, 
Italy. On returning to his mountain home, 
in 1809, and finding it in the hands of the 
French, he went to Switzerland and later 
to Paris. In 1 812, after a short visit home, 
he went to Berlin, where he studied paint- 
ing until 1 8 17, in which year he emigrated 
io America, and settled in Philadelphia. A 
few years later he went to Chili and Peru, 
where he executed some fine portraits of 
notable people, including General Simon 
Bolivar. After spending some time in Mex- 
ico, he returned to Philadelphia, and en- 
gaged in the banking business. In 1837 he 
founded the house of Drexel & Co. He 
died in 1837, and was succeeded by his two 
sons, Anthony J. and Francis A. His son, 
Anthony J. Drexel, Jr. , entered the bank 
when he was thirteen years of age, before he 
was through with his schooling, and after 
that the history of the banking business of 



which he was the head, was the history of his 
life. The New York house of Drexel, Mor- 
gan & Co. was established in 1850; the 
Paris house, Drexel, Harjes & Co., in 1867. 
The Drexel banking houses have supplied 
land placed hundreds of millions of dollars 
n government, corporation, railroad and 
other loans and securities. The reputation 
of the houses has always been held on the 
highest plane. Mr. Drexel founded and 
heavily endowed the Drexel Institute, in 
Philadelphia, an institution to furnish better 
and wider avenues of employment to young 
people of both sexes. It has departments 
of arts, science, mechanical arts and domes- 
tic economy. Mr. Drexel.Jr., departed this 
life June 30, 1893. 



SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE, 
inventor of the recording telegraph in- 
strument, was born in Charlestown, Massa- 
chusetts, April 27, 1791. He graduated 
from Yale College in 18 10, and took up art 
as his profession. He went to London with 
the great American painter, Washington 
Allstdn, and studied in the Royal Academy 
under Benjamin West. His " Dying Her- 
cules, " his first effort in sculpture, took the 
gold medal in 1813. He returned to Amer- 
ica in 181 5 and continued to pursue his 
profession. He was greatly interested in 
scientific studies, which he carried on in 
connection with other labors. He founded 
the National Academy of Design and was 
many years its president. He returned to 
Europe and spent three years in study 
in the art centers, Rome, Florence, Venice 
and Paris. In 1832 he returned to America 
and while on the return voyage the idea of 
a recording telegraph apparatus occurred to 
him, and he made a drawing to represent his 
conception. He was the first to occupy the 
chair of fine arts in the University of New 



coMrExnirM of luoc.RArHr 



125 



York City, and in 1835 lie set up his rude 
instrument in his room in the university. 
But it was not until after many years of 
discouragement and reverses of fortune that 
he finally was successful in placing his inven- 
tion before the public. In 1844, by aid of 
the United States government, he had con- 
structed a telegraph line forty miles in length 
from Washington to Baltimore. Over this 
line the test was made, and the first tele- 
graphic message was flashed May 24, 1844, 
from the United States supreme court rooms 
to Baltimore. It read, "What hath God 
wrought!" His fame and fortune were es- 
tablished in an instant. W^ealth and honors 
poured in upon him from that day. The 
nations of Europe vied with each other 
in honoring the great inventor with medals, 
titles and decorations, and the learned 
societies of Europe hastened to enroll his 
name upon their membership lists and confer 
degrees. In 1858 he was the recipient of an 
honor never accorded to an inventor before. 
The ten leading nations of Europe, at the 
suggestion of the Emporer Napoleon, ap- 
pointed representatives to an international 
congress, which convened at Paris for the 
special purpose of e.xpressing gratitude of the 
nations, and they voted him a present of 
400,000 francs. 

Professor Morse was present at the unveil- 
ing of a bronze statue erected in his honor in 
Central Park, New York, in 1871. His last 
appearance in public was at the unveiling 
of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in New 
York in 1872, when he made the dedica- 
tory speech and unveiled the statue. He 
died April 2, 187?, in the city of New York. 



MORRISON REMICHWAITE, seventh 
chief justice of the United States, was 
born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29, 
1816. He was a graduate from Yale Col- 



lege in 1837, in the class with William M. 
Evarts. His father was judge of the su- 
preme court of errors of the state of Con- 
necticut, and in his office young Waite 
studied law. He subsequently removed to 
Ohio, and was elected to the legislature of 
that state in 1849. He removed from 
Maumee City to Toledo and became a prom- 
inent legal light in that state. He was 
nominated as a candidate for congress re- 
peatedly but declined to run, and also de- 
clined a place on the supreme bench of the 
state. He won great distinction for his able 
handling of the Alabama claims at Geneva, 
before the arbitration tribunal in 1871, and 
was appointed chief justice of the supreme 
court of the United States in 1874 on the 
death of Judge Chase. When, in 1876, elec- 
toral commissioners were chosen to decide 
the presidential electioti controversy between 
Tilden and Hayes, Judge Waite refused to 
serve on that commission. 

His death occurred March 23, 1888. 



ELISHA KENT KANE was one of the 
distinguished American explorers of the 
unknown regions of the frozen north, and 
gave to the world a more accurate knowl- 
edge of the Arctic zone. Dr. Kane was 
born February 3, 1820, at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of the 
universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania, 
and took his medical degree in 1843. He 
entered the service of the United States 
navy, and was physician to the Chinese 
embassy. Dr. Kane traveled extensively 
in the Levant, Asia and Western Africa, 
and also served in the Mexican war, in 
which he was severely wounded. His 
first Arctic expedition was under De Haven 
in the first Grinnell expedition in search 
of Sir John Franklin in 1850. He com- 
manded the second Grinnell expedition 



126 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



in 1853-55, 3^nd discovered an open polar 
sea. For this expedition he received a gold 
medal and other distinctions. He published 
a narrative of his first polar expedition in 
1853, and in 1856 published two volumes 
relating to his second polar expedition. He 
was a man of active, enterprising and cour- 
ageous spirit. His health, which was al- 
ways delicate, was impaired by the hard- 
ships of his Arctic expeditions, from which 
he never fully recovered and from which he 
died February 16, 1857, at Havana. 



ELIZABETH CADY STANTON was a 
daughter of Judge Daniel Cady and 
Margaret Livingston, and was born Novem- 
ber 12, 181 5, at Johnstown, New York. She 
was educated at the Johnstown Academy, 
where she studied with a class of boys, and 
was fitted for college at the age of fifteen, 
after which she pursued her studies at Mrs. 
Willard's Seminary, at Troy. Her atten- 
tion was called to the disabilities of her sex 
by her own educational experiences, and 
through a study of Blackstone, Story, and 
Kent. Miss Cady was married to Henry B. 
Stanton in 1840, and accompanied him to 
the world's anti-slavery convention in Lon- 
don. While there she made the acquain- 
tance of Lucretia Mott. Mrs. Stanton 
resided at Boston until 1S47, when the 
family moved to Seneca Falls, New York, 
and she and Lucretia Mott signed the first 
call for a woman's rights convention. The 
meeting was held at her place of residence 
July 19-20, 1848. This was the first oc- 
casion of a formal claim of suffrage for 
women that was made. Mrs. Stanton ad- 
dressed the New York legislature, in 1854, 
on the rights of married women, and in 
i860, in advocacy of the granting of di- 
vorce for drunkenness. She also addressed 
the legislature and the constitutional con- 



vention, and maintained that during the 
revision of the constitution the state was 
resolved into its original elements, and that 
all citizens had, therefore, a right to vote 
for the members of that convention. After 
1869 Mrs. Stanton frequently addressed 
congressional committees and state consti- 
tutional conventions, and she canvassed 
Kansas, Michigan, and other states when 
the question of woman suffrage was sub- 
mitted in those states. Mrs. Stanton was 
one of the editors of the " Revolution," and 
most of the calls and resolutions for con- 
ventions have come from her pen. She 
was president of the national committee, 
also of the Woman's Loyal League, and 
of the National Association, for many years. 



DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, a great 
American jurist, was born in Connecti- 
cut in 1805. He entered Williams College 
when sixteen years old, and commenced the 
study of law in 1825. In 1828 he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and went to New York, 
where he soon came into prominence be- 
fore the bar of that state. He entered upon 
the labor of reforming the practice and 
procedure, which was then based upon the 
common law practice of England, and had 
become extremely complicated, difficult and 
uncertain in its application. His first paper 
on this subject was published in 1839, and 
after eight years of continuous efforts in this 
direction, he was appointed one of a com- 
mission by New York to reform the practice 
of that state. The result was embodied in 
the two codes of procedure, civil and crimi- 
nal, the first of which was adopted almost 
entire by the state of New York, and has 
since been adopted by more than half the 
states in the Union, and became the basis 
of the new practice and procedure in Eng- 
land, contained in the Judicature act. He 



COMPEXD/rM OF BTOGRAPHr. 



127 



was later appointed chairman of a new com- 
mission to codify the entire body of laws. 
This great work employed many years in its 
completion, but when finished it embraced 
a civil, penal, and political code, covering 
the entire field of American laws, statutory 
and common. This great body of law was 
adopted by California and Dakota territory 
in its entirety, and many other states have 
since adopted its substance. In 1867 the 
British Association for Social Science heard 
a proposition from Mr. Field to prepare an 
international code. This led to the prepara- 
tion of his " Draft Outlines of an Interna- 
tional Code," which was in fact a complete 
body of international laws, and introduced 
the principle of arbitration. Other of his 
codes of the state of New York have since 
been adopted by that state. 

In addition to his great works on law, 
Mr. Field indulged his literary tastes by fre- 
quent contributions to general literature, 
and his articles on travels, literature, and 
the political questions of the hour gave 
him rank with the best writers of his time. 
His father was the Rev. David Dudley Field, 
and his brothers were Cyrus W. Field, Rev. 
Henry Martin Field, and Justice Stephen 
J. Field of the United States supreme 
court. David Dudley Field died at New 
York, April 13, 1894. 



HENRY M. TELLER, a celebrated 
American politician, and secretary of 
the interior under President Arthur, was born 
May 23, 1830, in Allegany county, New 
York. He was of Hollandish ancestry and 
received an excellent education, after which 
he took up the study of law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in the state of New York. 
Mr. Teller removed to Illinois in January, 
1858, and practiced for three years in that 
State. From thence he moved to Colorado 



in 1 86 1 and located at Central City, which 
was then one of the principal mining towns 
in the state. His e.xceptional abilities as 
a lawyer soon brought him into prominence 
and gained for him a numerous and profit- 
able clientage. In politics he affiliated with 
the Republican party, but declined to become 
a candidate for office until the admission of 
Colorado into the Union as a state, when 
he was elected to the United States senate. 
Mr. Teller drew the term ending March 
4, 1877, but was re-elected December 11, 
1876, and served until April 17, 1882, when 
he was appointed by President Arthur as 
secretary of the interior. He accepted a 
cabinet position with reluctance, and on 
March 3, 1885, he retired from the cabinet, 
having been elected to the senate a short 
time before to succeed Nathaniel P. Hill. 
Mr. Teller took his scat on March 4, 1885, 
in the senate, to which he was afterward 
re-elected. He served as chairman on the 
committee of pensions, patents, mines and 
mining, and was also a member of commit- 
tees on claims, railroads, privileges and 
elections and public lands. Mr. Teller came 
to be recognized as one of the ablest advo- 
cates of the silver cause. He was one of the 
delegates to the Republican National conven- 
tion at St. Louis in 1896, in which he took 
an active part and tried to have a silver 
plank inserted in the platform of the party. 
Failing in this he felt impelled to bolt the 
convention, which he did and joined forces 
with the great silver movement in the cam- 
paign which followed, being recognized in 
that campaign as one of the most able and 
eminent advocates of "silver" in America. 



JOHN ERICSSON, an eminent inven- 
tor and machinist, who won fame in 
America, was born ii; Sweden, July 31,1 803. 
In early childhood he evinced a decided in 



128 



COMPENDIUM or BIOGRAPHT. 



clination to mechanical pursuits, and at the 
age of eleven he was appointed to a cadet- 
ship in the engineer corps, and at the age of 
seventeen was promoted to a lieutenancy. 
In 1826 he introduced a "flame engine," 
which he had invented, and offered it to 
English capitalists, but it was found that it 
could be operated only by the use of wood 
for fuel. Shortly after this he resigned his 
commission in the army of Sweden, and de- 
voted himself to mechanical pursuits. He 
discovered and introduced the principle of 
artificial draughts in steam boilers, and re- 
ceived a prize of two thousand five hundred 
dollars for his locomotive, the "Novelty," 
which attained a great speed, for that day. 
The artificial draught effected a great saving 
in fuel and made unnecessary the huge 
smoke-stacks formerly used, and the princi- 
ple is still applied, in modified form, in boil- 
ers. He also invented a steam fire-engine, 
and later a hot-air engine, which he at- 
tempted to apply in the operation of his 
ship, "Ericsson," but as it did not give the 
speed required, he abandoned it, but after- 
wards applied it to machinery for pumping, 
hoisting, etc. 

Ericsson was first to apply the screw 
propeller to navigation. The E^nglish peo- 
ple not receiving this new departure readily, 
Ericsson came to America in 1839, and 
built the United States steamer, "Prince- 
ton," in which the screw-propeller was util- 
ized, the first steamer ever built in which 
the propeller was under water, out of range 
of the enemy's shots. The achievement 
which gave him greatest renown, however, 
was the ironclad vessel, the "Monitor," an 
entirely new type of vessel, which, in March, 
1862, attacked the Confederate monster 
ironclad ram, " Virginia," and after a fierce 
struggle, compelled her to withdraw from 
Hampton Roads for repairs. After the war 



one of his most noted inventions was his 
vessel, ' ' Destroyer, " with a submarine gun, 
which carried a projectile torpedo. In 1886 
the king of Spain conferred on him the 
grand cross of the Order of Naval Merit. 
He died in March, 1889, and his body was 
transferred, with naval honors, to the country 
of his birth. 

JAMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth presi- 
dent of the United States, was a native 
of Pennsylvania, and was born in Franklin 
county, April 23, 1791. He was of Irish 
ancestry, his father having come to this 
country in 1783, in quite humble circum- 
stances, and settled in the western part of 
the Keystone state. 

James Buchanan remained in his se- 
cluded home for eight years, enjoying but 
few social or intellectual advantages. His 
parents were industrious and frugal, and 
prospered, and, in 1799, the family removed 
to Mercersbur Pennsylvania, where he 
was placed in school. His progress was 
rapid, and in 1801 he entered Dickinson 
College, at Carlisle, where he took his place 
among the best scholars in the institution. 
In 1809 he graduated with the highest hon- 
ors in his class. He was then eighteen, tall, 
graceful and in vigorous health. He com- 
menced the study of law at Lancaster, and 
was admitted to the bar in 181 2. He rose 
very rapidly in his profession and took a 
stand with the ablest of his fellow lawyers. 
When but twenty-six years old he success- 
fully defended, unaided by counsel, one of 
the judges of the state who was before the 
bar of the state senate under articles of im- 
peachment. 

During the war of 1812-15, Mr. Buch- 
anan sustained the government with all his 
power, eloquently urging the vigorous prose- 
cution of the war, and enlisted as a private 



COMPEXDIUM OF BfOGRAPHT. 



129 



volunteer to assist in repelling the British 
who had sacked and burned the public 
buildings of Washington and threatened 
Baltimore. At that time Buchanan was 
a Federalist, but the opposition of that 
party to the war with Great Britain and the 
alien and sedition laws of John Adams, 
brought that party into disrepute, and drove 
many, among them Buchanan, into the Re- 
publican, or anti-Federalist ranks. He was 
elected to congress in 1828. In 1831 he 
was sent as minister to Russia, and upon 
his return to this country, in 1833, was ele- 
vated to the United States senate, and re- 
mained in that position for twelve years. 
Upon the accession of President Polk to 
office he made Mr. Buchanan secretary of 
state. Four years later he retired to pri- 
vate life, and in 1853 he was honored with 
the mission to England. In 1856 the na- 
tional Democratic convention nominated 
him for the presidency and he was elected. 
It was during his administration that the 
rising tide of the secession movement over- 
took the country. Mr. Buchanan declared 
that the national constitution gave him no 
power to do anything against the movement 
to break up the Union. After his succession 
by Abraham Lincoln in i860, Mr. Buchanan 
retired to his home at Wheatland, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he died June i, 1868. 



JOHN HARVARD, the founder of the 
Harvard University, was born in Eng- 
land about the year 1608. He received his 
education at Emanuel College, Cambridge, 
and came to America in 1637, settling in 
Massachusetts. He was a non-conformist 
minister, and a tract of land was set aside 
for him in Charlestown, near Boston. He 
was at once appointed one of a committee to 
formulate a body of laws for the colony. 
One year before his arrival in the colony 



the general court had voted the sum of four 
hundred pounds toward the establishment of 
a school or college, half of which was to be 
paid the next year In 1637 preliminary 
plans were made for starting the school. In 
1638 John Harvard, who had shown great 
interest in the new institution of learning 
proposed, died, leaving his entire property, 
about twice the sum originally voted, to the 
school, together with three hundred volumes 
as a nucleus for a library. The institution 
was then given the name of Harvard, and 
established at Newton (now Cambridge), 
Massachusetts. It grew to be one of the two 
principal seats of learning in the new world, 
and has maintained its reputation since. It 
now consists of twenty-two separate build- 
ings, and its curriculum embraces over one 
hundred and seventy elective courses, and it 
ranks among the great universities of the 
world. 

ROGER BROOKE TANEY, a noted 
jurist and chief justice of the United 
States supreme court, was born in Calvert 
county, Maryland, March 17, 1777. He 
graduated from Dickinson College at the 
age of eighteen, took up the study of law, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1799. He 
was chosen to the legislature from his county, 
and in 1801 removed to Frederick, Mary- 
land. He became United States senator 
from Maryland in 18 16, and took up his 
permanent residence in Baltimore a few 
years later. In 1824 he became an ardent 
admirer and supporter of Andrew Jackson, 
and upon Jackson's election to the presi- 
dency, was appointed attorney general of 
the United States. Two jears later he was 
appointed secretary of the treasury, and 
after serving in that capacity for nearly one 
year, the senate refused to confirm the ap- 
pointment. In 1835, upon the death of 



180 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Chief-justice Marshall, he was appointed to 
that place, and a political change having 
occurred in the make up of the senate, he 
was confirmed in 1836. He presided at 
his first session in January of the following 
year. 

The case which suggests itself first to 
the average reader in connection with this 
jurist is the celebrated " Dred Scott " case, 
which came before the supreme court for 
decision in 1856. In his opinion, delivered 
on behalf of a majority of the court, one 
remarkable statement occurs as a result of 
an exhaustive survey of the historical 
grounds, to the effect that " for more than 
a century prior to the adoption of the con- 
stitution they (Africans) had been regarded 
so far inferior that they had no rights which 
a white man was bound to respect." Judge 
Taney retained the office of chief justice 
until his death, in 1864. 



JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY.— This gen- 
tleman had a world-wide reputation as 
an historian, which placed him in the front 
rank of the great men of America. He was 
born April 15, 1 8 14, at Dorchester, Massa- 
chusetts, was given a thorough preparatory 
education and then attended Harvard, from 
which he was graduated in 1831. He also 
studied at Gottingen and Berlin, read law 
and in 1836 was admitted to the bar. In 
1 84 1 he was appointed secretary of the 
legation at St. Petersburg, and in 1866-67 
served as United States minister to Austria, 
serving in the same capacity during 1869 
and 1870 to England. In 1856, after long 
and exhaustive research and preparation, he 
published in London "The Rise of the 
Dutch Republic." It embraced three vol- 
umes and immediately attracted great at- 
tention throughout Europe and America as 
a work of unusual merit. From 1861 to 



1868 he produced "The History of the 
United Netherlands," in four volumes. 
Other works followed, with equal success, 
and his position as one of the foremost his 
torians and writers of his day was firmly 
established. His death occured May 29, 
1877- 

ELIAS HOWE, the inventor of the sew- 
ing machine, well deserves to be classed 
among the great and noted men of Amer- 
ica. He was the son of a miller and farmer 
and was born at Spencer, Massachusetts, 
July 9, 1819. In 1835 he went to Lowell 
and worked there, and later at Boston, in the 
machine shops. His first sewing machine 
was completed in 1 845 , and he patented it in 
1846, laboring with the greatest persistency 
in spite of poverty and hardships, working 
for a time as an engine driver on a railroad 
at pauper wages and with broken health. 
He then spent two years of unsuccessful ex- 
ertion in England, striving in vain to bring 
his invention into public notice and use. 
He returned to the United States in almost 
hopeless poverty, to find that his patent 
had been violated. At last, however, he 
found friends who assisted him financially, 
and after years of litigation he made good 
his claims in the courts in 1854. His inven- 
tion afterward brought him a large fortune. 
During the Civil war he volunteered as a 
private in the Seventeenth Connecticut Vol- 
unteers, and served for some time. During 
his life time he received the cross of the 
Legion of Honor and many other medals. 
His death occurred October 3, 1867, at 
Brooklyn, New York. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS, celebrated as an 
eloquent preacher and able pulpit ora- 
tor, was born in Boston on the 13th day of 
December, 1835. He received excellent 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHr. 



131 



educational advantages, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1855. Early in life he decided 
upon the ministry as his life work and 
studied theology in the Episcopal Theolog- 
ical Seminary, at Alexandria, Virginia. In 
1S59 he was ordained and the same year 
became pastor of the Church of the Advent, 
in Philadelphia. Three years later he as- 
sumed the pastorate of the Church of the 
Holy Trinity, where he remained until 1870. 
At the expiration of that time he accepted 
the pastoral charge of Trinity Church in 
Boston, where his eloquence and ability at- 
tracted much attention and built up a pow- 
erful church organization. Dr. Brooks also 
devoted considerable time to lecturing and 
literary work and attained prominence in 
these lines. 

WILLIAM B. ALLISON, a statesman 
of national reputation and one of the 
leaders of the Republican party, was born 
March 2, 1829, at Perry, Ohio. He grew 
up on his father's farm, which he assisted 
in cultivating, and attended the district 
school. When sixteen years old he went 
to the academy at Wooster, and subse- 
quently spent a year at the Allegheny Col- 
lege, at Meadville, Pennsylvania. He next 
taught school and spent another year at the 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio. 
Mr. Allison then took up the study of law 
at Wooster, where he was admitted to the 
bariniSsi, and soon obtained a position 
as deputy county clerk. His political lean- 
ings were toward the old line Whigs, who 
afterward laid the foundation of the Repub- 
lican party. He was a delegate to the state 
convention in 1856, in the campaign of 
which he supported Fremont for president. 
Mr Allison removed to Dubuque, Iowa, 
in the following year. He rapidly rose to 
prominence at the bar and in politics. In 



i860 he was chosen as a delegate to the 
Republican convention held in Chicago, of 
which he was elected one of the secretaries. 
At the outbreak of the civil war he was ap- 
pointed on the staff of the governor. His 
congressional career opened in 1862, when 
he was elected to the thirty-eighth congress; 
he was re-elected three times, serving from 
March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1871. Hewas 
a member of the ways and means committee 
a good part of his term. His career in the 
United States senate began in 1873, and he 
rapidly rose to eminence in national affairs, 
his service of a quarter of a century in that 
body being marked by close fealty to the 
Republican party. He twice declined the 
portfolio of the treasury tendered him by 
Garfield and Harrison, and his name was 
prominently mentioned for the presidency 
at several national Republican conventions. 



MARY ASHTON LIVERMORE, lec- 
turer and writer, was born in Boston, 
December 19, 1821. She was the daughter 
of Timothy Rice, and married D. P. Liver- 
more, a preacher of the Universalist church. 
She contributed able articles to many of the 
most noted periodicals of this country and 
England. During the Civil war she labored 
zealously and with success on behalf of the 
sanitary commission which played so impor- 
tant a part during that great struggle. She 
became editor of the " Woman's Journal," 
published at Boston in 1870. 

She held a prominent place as a public 
speaker and writer on woman's suffrage, 
temperance, social and religious questions, 
and her influence was great in every cause 
she advocated. 



JOHN B. GOUGH, a noted temperance 
lecturer, who won his fame in America, 
was born in the village of Sandgate, Kent, 



18^ 



COsMPENDIL^M OF BIOGRAPHT. 



England, August 22, 1817. He came to 
the United States at the age of twelve. 
He followed the trade of bookbinder, and 
lived in great poverty on account of the 
liquor habit. In 1843, however, he re- 
formed, and began his career as a temper- 
ance lecturer. He worked zealously in the 
cause of temperance, and his lectures and 
published articles revealed great earnestness. 
He formed temperance societies throughout 
the entire country, and labored with great 
success. He visited England in the same 
cause about the year 1853 and again in 
1878. He also lectured upon many other 
topics, in which he attained a wide reputa- 
tion. His death occurred February 18, 
1886. 

THOMAS BUCHANAN READ, author, 
sculptor and painter, was born in Ches- 
ter county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1822. 
He early evinced a taste for art, and began 
the study of sculpture in Cincinnati. Later 
he found painting more to his liking. He 
went to New York, where he followed this 
profession, and later to Boston. In 1846 
he located in Philadelphia. He visited 
Italy in 1850, and studied at Florence, 
where he resided almost continuously for 
twenty-two years. He returned to America 
in 1872, and died in New York May 11 of 
the same year. 

He was the author of many heroic 
poems, but the one giving him the most re- 
nown is his famous "Sheridan's Ride," of 
which he has also left a representation in 
painting. 

EUGENE V. DEBS, the former famous 
president of the American Railway 
Union, and great labor leader, was born in 
the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1855. 
He received his education in the public 



schools of that place and at the age of 
sixteen years began work as a painter in 
the Vandalia shops. After this, for some 
three years, he was employed as a loco- 
motive fireman on the same road. His 
first appearance in public life was in his 
canvass for the election to the office of city 
clerk of Terre Haute. In this capacity he 
served two terms, and when twenty six 
years of age was elected a member of the 
legislature of the state of Indiana. While 
a member of that body he secured the 
passage of several bills in the interest of 
organized labor, of which he was always 
a faithful champion. Mr. Debs' speech 
nominating Daniel Voorhees for the United 
States senate gave him a wide reputation for 
oratory. On the expiration of his term in 
the legislature, he was elected grand secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Brotherhood of 
Locomotive Fireman and filled that office 
for fourteen successive years. He was 
always an earnest advocate of confederation 
of railroad men and it was mainly through 
his efforts that the United Order of Railway 
Employes, composed of the Brotherhood 
of Railway Trainmen and Conductors, 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and 
the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association was 
formed, and he became a member of its 
supreme council. The order was dissolved 
by disagreement between two of its leading 
orders, and then Mr. Debs conceived the 
idea of the American Railway Union. He 
worked on the details and the union came 
into existence in Chicago, June 20, 1893. For 
a time it prospered and became one of the 
largest bodies of railway men in the world. 
It won in a contest with the Great Northern 
Railway. In the strike made by the union 
in sympathy with the Pullman employes 
inaugurated in Chicago June 25, 1S94, and 
the consequent rioting, the Railway Union 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



IfeJ 



lost much prestige and Mr. Debs, in company 
with others of the officers, beinj:; held as in con- 
tempt of the United States courts, he suffered 
a sentence of six months in jail at Wood- 
stock, McHenry county, Illinois. In 1897 
Mr. Debs, on the demise of the American 
Railway Union, organized the Social 
Democracy, an institution founded on the 
best lines of the communistic idea, which 
was to provide homes and employment for 
its members. 



JOHN G. CARLISLE, famous as a law- 
yer, congressman, senator and cabinet 
officer, was born in Campbell (now Kenton) 
county, Kentucky, September 5, 1835, on a 
farm. He received the usual education oi 
the time and began at an early age to teach 
school and, at the same time, the study of 
law. Soon opportunity offered and he 
entered an office in Covington, Kentucky, 
and was admitted to practice at the bar in 
1S58. Politics attracted his attention and 
in 1S59 he was elected to the house of rep- 
resentatives in the legislature of his native 
state. On the outbreak of the war in 1861, 
he embraced the cause of the Union and was 
largely instrumental in preserving Kentucky 
to the federal cause. He resumed his legal 
practice for a time and declined a nomina- 
tion as presidential elector in 1864. In 
1866 and again in 1869 Mr. Carlisle was 
elected to the senate of Kentucky. He re- 
signed this position in 1871 and was chosen 
lieutenant governor of the state, which office 
he held until 1875. He was one of the 
presidential electors-at-large for Ken- 
tucky in 1876. He first entered congress in 
1877, and soon became a prominent leader 
on the Democratic side of the house of rep- 
resentatives, and continued a member of 
that body through the forty-sixth, forty- 
seventh, forty-eighth and forty-ninth con- 



gresses, and was speaker of the house during 
the two latter. He was elected to the 
United States senate to succeed Senator 
Blackburn, and remained a member of that 
branch of congress until March, 1893, when 
he was appointed secretary of the treasury. 
He performed the duties of that high office 
until March 4, 1897, throughout the en- 
tire second administration of President 
Cleveland. His ability and many years of 
public service gave him a national reputa- 
tion. 



FRANCES E. WILLARD, for many years 
president of the -Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union, and a noted American 
lecturer and writer, was born in Rochester, 
New York, September 28, 1839. Graduating 
from the Northwestern Female College at the 
age of nineteen she began teaching and met 
with great success in many cities of the west. 
She was made directress of Genesee Wes- 
leyan Seminary at Lima, Ohio, in 1867, and 
four years later was elected president of the 
Evanston College for young ladies, a branch 
of the Northwestern University. 

During the two years succeeding 1869 
she traveled extensively in Europe and the 
east, visiting Egypt and Palestine, and 
gathering materials for a valuable course of 
lectures, which she delivered at Chicago on 
her return. She became very popular, and 
won great influence in the temperance 
cause. Her work as president of the Wo- 
man's Christian Temperance Union greatly 
strengthened that society, and she made 
frequent trips to Europe in the mterest of 
that cause. 

RICHARD OLNEY.— Among the promi- 
nent men who were members of the 
cabinet of President Cleveland in his second 
administration, the gentleman whose name 



134 



COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHT. 



heads this sketch held a leading place, oc- 
cupying the positions of attorney general 
and secretary of state. 

Mr. Olney came from one of the oldest 
and most honored New England families; 
the first of his ancestors to come from Eng- 
land settled in Massachusetts in 1635. This 
was Thomas Olney. He was a friend and 
co-religionist of Roger Williams, and when 
the latter moved to what is now Rhode 
Psland, went with him and became one of 
the founders of Providence Plantations. 

Richard Olney was born in Oxford, 
Massachusetts, in 1835, and received the 
elements of his earlier education in the com- 
mon schools which New England is so proud 
of. He entered Brown University, from 
which he graduated in 1856, and passed the 
Harvard law school two years later. He 
began the practice of his profession with 
Judge B. F. Thomas, a prominent man of 
that locality. For years Richard Olney was 
regarded as one of the ablest and most 
learned lawyers in Massachusetts. Twice 
he was offered a place on the bench of the 
supreme court of the state, but both times 
he declined. He was always a Democrat 
in his political tenets, and for many years 
was a trusted counsellor of members of that 
party. In 1874 Mr. Olney was elected a 
member of the legislature. In 1876, during 
the heated presidential campaign, to 
strengthen the cause of Mr. Tilden in the 
New England states, it was intimated that 
in the event of that gentleman's election to 
the presidency, Mr. Olney would be attor- 
sey general. 

When Grover Cleveland was elected presi- 
{<«nt of the United States, on his inaugura- 
tion in March, 1893, he tendered the posi- 
tion of attorney general to Richard Olney. 
This was accepted, and that gentleman ful- 
611ed the duties of the office until the death 



of Walter Q. Gresham, in May, 1895, made 
vacant the position of secretary of state. 
This post was filled by the appointment of 
Mr. Olney. While occupying the later 
office, Mr. Olney brought himself into inter- 
national prominence by some very able state 
papers. 

JOHN JAY KNOX, for many years comp- 
troller of the currency, and an eminent 
financier, was born in Knoxboro, Oneida 
county. New York, May 19, 1828. He re- 
ceived a good education and graduated at 
Hamilton College in 1849. For about 
thirteen years he was engaged as a private 
banker, or in a position in a bank, where 
he laid the foundation of his knowledge of 
the laws of finance. In 1862, Salmon P. 
Chase, then secretary of the treasury, ap- 
pointed him to an office in that department 
of the government, and later he had charge 
of the mint coinage correspondence. In 1 867 
Mr. Knox was made deputy comptroller 
of the currency, and in that capacity, in 
1870. he made two reports on the mint 
service, with a codification of the mint and 
coinage laws of the United States, and 
suggesting many important amendments. 
These reports were ordered printed by reso- 
lution of congress. The bill which he pre- 
pared, with some slight changes, was sub- 
sequently passed, and has been known in 
history as the " Coinage Act of 1873." 

In 1872 Mr. Knox was appointed comp- 
troller of the currency, and held that re- 
sponsible position until 1884, when he re- 
signed. He then acceptted the position of 
president of the National Bank of the Re- 
public, of New York City, which institution 
he served for many years. He was the 
author of " United States Notes," published 
in 1884. In the reports spoken of above, a 
history of the two United States banks is 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



185 



given, together with that of the state and 
national banking system, and much valuable 
statistical matter relating to kindred sub- 
jects. 

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.— In the 
opinion of many critics Hawthorne is 
prcjuounced the foremost American novelist, 
and in his peculiar vein of romance is said 
to be without a peer. His reputation is 
world-wide, and his ability as a writer is 
recognized abroad as well as at home. 
He was born July 4, 1804, at Salem, Massa- 
chusetts. On account of feeble health he 
spent some years of his boyhood on a farm 
near Raymond, Maine. He laid the foun- 
dation of a liberal education in his youth, 
and entered Bowdoin College, from which 
he graduated in 1825 in the same class with 
H W Longfellow and John S. C. Abbott. 
He then returned to Salem, where he gave 
his attention to literature, publishing several 
tales and other articles in various periodi- 
cals. His first venture in the field of ro- 
mance, " Fanshaw," proved a failure. In 
1836 he removed to Boston, and became 
editor of the "American Magazine," which 
soon passed out of existence. In 1837 he 
published " Twice Told Tales," which were 
chiefly made up of his former contributions 
to magazines. In 1838-41 he held a posi- 
tion in the Boston custom house, but later 
took part in the "Brook /arm experiment," 
a socialistic idea after the plan of Fourier. 
In 1843 he was married and took up his 
residence at the old parsonage at Concord, 
Massachusetts, which he immortalized in 
his next work, "Mosses From an Old 
Manse," published in 1846. From the lat- 
ter date until 1850 he was survej'or of the 
port of Salem, and while thus employed 
wrote one of his strongest works, "The 
Scarlet Letter." For the succeeding two 



years Lenox, Massachusetts, was his home, 
and the " House of the Seven Gables" was 
produced there, as well as the " Blithedale 
Romance." In 1852 he published a "Life 
of Franklin Pierce," a college friend whom 
he warmly regarded. In 1853 he was ap- 
pointed United States consul to Liverpool, 
England, where he remained some years, 
after which he spent some time in Italy. 
On returning to his native land he took up 
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts. 
While taking a trip for his health with ex- 
President Pierce, he died at Plymouth, New 
Hampshire, May 19, 1864. In addition to 
the works mentioned above Mr. Hawthorne 
gave to the world the following books: 
" True Stories from History," "The Won- 
der Book," " The Snow Image," "Tangle- 
wood Tales," "The Marble Faun," and 
' ' Our Old Home. " After his death appeared 
a series of "Notebooks," edited by his wife, 
Sophia P. Hawthorne; " Septimius Felton," 
edited by his daughter, Una, and " Dr. 
Grimshaw's Secret," put into shape by his 
talented son, Julian. He left an unfinished 
work called " Dolliver Romance," which has 
been published just as he left it. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN, sixteenth presi- 
dent of the United States, was born 
February 12, 1809, in Larue county (Har- 
din county), Kentucky, in a log-cabin near 
Hudgensville. When he was eight years 
old he removed with his parents to Indiana, 
near the Ohio river, and a year later his 
mother died. His father then married Mrs. 
Elizabeth (Bush) Johnston, of Elizabeth- 
town, Kentucky, who proved a kind of fos- 
ter-mother to Abraham, and encouraged 
him to study. He worked as a farm hand 
and as a clerk in a store at Gentryville, and 
was noted for his athletic feats and strength, 
fondness for debate, a fund of humorous 



COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH7'. 



anecdote, as well as the composition of rude 
verses. He made a trip at the age of nine- 
teen to New Orleans on a flat-boat, and set- 
tled in Illinois in 1830. He assisted his 
father to build a log house and clear a farm 
on the Sangamon river near Decatur, Illinois, 
and split the rails with which to fence it. In 
185 1 he was employed in the building of a 
flat-boat on the Sangamon, and to run it to 
New Orleans. The voyage gave him a new 
insight into the horrors of slavery in the 
south. On his return he settled at New 
Salem and engaged, first as a clerk in a store, 
then as grocer, surveyor and postmaster, and 
he piloted the first steamboat that as- 
cended the Sangamon. He participated in 
the Black Hawk war as captain of volun- 
teers, and after his return he studied law, 
interested himself in politics, and became 
prominent locally as a public speaker. He 
was elected to the legislature in 1834 as a 
" Clay Whig, " and began at once to dis- 
play a command of language and forcible 
rhetoric that made him a match for his 
more cultured opponents. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1837, and began prac- 
tice at Springfield. He married a lady of a 
prominent Kentucky family in 1842. He 
was active in the presidential campaigns of 
1840 and 1844 and was an elector on the 
Harrison and Clay tickets, and was elected 
to congress in 1846, over Peter Cartwright. 
He voted for the Wilmot proviso and the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Colum- 
bia, and opposed the war with Mexico, but 
gained little prominence during his two 
years' service. He then returned to Spring- 
field and devoted his attention to law, tak- 
ing little interest in politics, until the repeal 
of the Missouri compromise and the passage 
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 1854. This 
awakened his interest in politics again and 
he attacked the champion of that measure. 



Stephen A. Douglas, in a speech at Spring- 
field that made him famous, and is said 
by those who heard it to be the greatest 
speech of his life. Lincoln was selected as 
candidate for the United States senate, but 
was defeated by Trumbull. Upon the pas- 
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill the Whig 
party suddenly went to pieces, and the Re- 
publican party gathered head. At the 
Bloomington Republican convention in 1856 
Lincoln made an effective address in which 
he first took a position antagonistic to the ex- 
istence of slavery. He was a Fremont elector 
and received a strong support for nomina- 
tion as vice-president in the Philadelphia 
convention. In 1858 he was the unanimous 
choice of the Republicans for the United 
States senate, and the great campaign of de- 
bate which followed resulted in the election 
of Douglas, but established Lincoln's repu- 
tation as the leading exponent of Republican 
doctrines. He began to be mentioned in 
Illinois as candidate for the presidency, and 
a course of addresses in the eastern states 
attracted favorable attention. When the 
national convention met at Chicago, his 
rivals. Chase, Seward, Bates and others, 
were compelled to retire before the western 
giant, and he was nominated, with Hannibal 
Hamlin as his running mate. The Demo- 
cratic party had now been disrupted, and 
Lincoln's election assured. He carried 
practically every northern state, and the 
secession of South Carolina, followed by a 
number of the gulf states, took place before 
his inauguration. Lincoln is the only presi- 
dent who was ever compelled to reach 
Washington in a secret manner. He es- 
caped assassination by avoiding Baltimore, 
and was quietly inaugurated March 4, 1861. 
His inaugural address was firm but con- 
ciliatory, and he said to the secessionists: 
"You have no oath registered in heaven 



COMPENDIUM OF BJOGRAPHr. 



187 



to destroy the government, while I have the 
most solemn one to preserve, protect and 
defend it.' He made up his cabinet chiefly 
of those political rivals in his own party — 
Seward, Chase, Cameron, Bates — and se- 
cured the co-operation of the Douglas Dem- 
ocrats. His great deeds, amidst the heat 
and turmoil of war, were: His call for 
seventy-five thousand volunteers, and the 
blockading of southern ports; calling of con- 
gress in e.xtra session, July 14, 1861, and 
obtaining four hundred thousand men and 
four hundred million dollars for the prosecu- 
tion of the war; appointing Stanton secre- 
tary of war; issuing the emancipation proc- 
lamation; calling three hundred thou- 
sand volunteers; address at Gettysburg 
cemetery; commissioned Grant as lieuten- 
ant-general and commander-in-chief of the 
armies of the United States; his second 
inaugural address; his visit to the army be- 
fore Richmond, and his entry into Rich- 
mond the day after its surrender. 

Abraham Lincoln was shot by John 
Wilkes Booth in a box in Ford's theater 
at Washington the night of April 14, 1865, 
and expired the following morning. His 
body was buried at Oak Ridge cemetery, 
Springfield, Illinois, and a monument com- 
tneinorating his great work marks his resting 
place. 

STEPHEN GIRARD, the celebrated 
philanthropist, was born in Bordeaux, 
France, May 24, 1750. He became a sailor 
engaged in the American coast trade, and 
also made frequent trips to the West Indies. 
During the Revolutionary war he was a 
grocer and liquor seller in Philadelphia. 
He married in that city, and afterward 
separated from his wife. After the war he 
again engaged in the coast and West India 
trade, and his fortune began to accumulate 



from receiving goods from West Indian 
planters during the insurrection in Hayti, 
little of which was ever called for again. 
He became a private banker in Philadelphia 
in 1812, and afterward was a director in the 
United States Bank. He made much money 
by leasing property in the city in times of 
depression, and upon the revival of industry 
sub-leasing at enormous profit. He became 
the wealthiest citizen of the United States 
of his time. 

He was eccentric, ungracious, and a 
freethinker. He had few, if any, friends in 
his lifetime. However, he was most chari- 
tably disposed, and gave to charitable in- 
stitutions and schools with a liberal hand. 
He did more than any one else to relieve 
the suffering and deprivations during the 
great yellow fever scourge in Philadelphia, 
devoting his personal attention to the sick. 
He endowed and made a free institution, 
the famous Will's Eye and Ear Infirmary 
of Philadelphia — one of the largest institu- 
tions of its kind in the world. At his death 
practically all his immense wealth was be- 
queathed to charitable institutions, more 
than two millions of dollars going to the 
founding of Girard College, which was to 
be devoted to the education and training of 
boys between the ages of six and ten years. 
Large donations were also made to institu- 
tions in Philadelphia and New Orleans. 
The principal building of Girard College is 
the most magnificent example of Greek 
architecture in America. Girard died De- 
cember 26, 1 83 1. 



LOUIS J. R. AGASSIZ, the eminent nat- 
uralist and geologist, was born in the 
parish of Motier, near Lake Neuchatel, Swit- 
zerland, May 28, 1807, but attained his 
greatest fame after becoming an American 
citizen. He studied the medical sciences at 



138 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Zurich, Heidelberg and Munich. His first 
worli was a Latin description of the fishes 
which Martius and Spix brought from Brazil. 
This was published in 1 829-3 • ■ He devoted 
much time to the study of fossil fishes, and 
in 1832 was appointed professor of natural 
history at Neuchatel. He greatly increased 
his reputation by a great work in French, 
entitled " Researches on Fossil Fishes," in 
1832-42, in which he made many important 
improvements in the classification of fishes. 
Having passed many summers among the 
Alps in researches on glaciers, he propounded 
some new and interesting ideas on geology, 
and the agency of glaciers in his "Studies 
by the Glaciers." This was published in 
1840. This latter work, with his " System 
of the Glaciers," published in 1847, are 
among his principal works. 

In 1846, Professor Agassiz crossed the 
ocean on a scientific excursion to the United 
States, and soon determined to remain here. 
He accepted, about the beginning of 1848, 
the chair of zoology and geology at Harvard. 
He explored the natural history of the 
United States at different times and gave an 
impulse to the study of nature in this 
country. In 1865 he conducted an expedi- 
tion to Brazil, and explored the lower Ama- 
zon and its tributaries. In 1868 he was 
made non-resident professor of natural his- 
tory at Cornell University. In December, 
1 87 1, he accompanied the Hassler expedi- 
tion, under Professor Pierce, to the South 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He died at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 14, 
1873. 

Among other of the important works of 
Professor Agassiz may be mentioned the fol- 
lowing: "Outlines of Comparative Physi- 
ology," "Journey to Brazil," and "Contri- 
butions to the Natural History of the United 
States." It is said of Professor Agassiz, 



that, perhaps, with the exception of Hugh 
Miller, no one had so popularized science in 
his day, or trained so many young natural- 
ists. Many of the theories held by Agassiz 
are not supported by many of the natural- 
ists of these later days, but upon many of 
the speculations into the origin of species and 
in physics he has left the marks of his own 
strongly marked individuality. 



WILLIAM WINDOM.— As a prominent 
and leading lawyer of the great north- 
west, as a member of both houses of con- 
gress, and as the secretary of the treasury, 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch 
won for himself a prominent position in the 
history of our country. 

Mr. Windom was a native of Ohio, 
born in Belmont county, May 10, 1827. 
He received a good elementary education in 
the schools of his native state, and took up 
the study of law. He was admitted to the 
bar, and entered upon the practice of his 
profession in Ohio, where he remained until 
1855. In the latter year he made up his 
mind to move further west, and accordingly 
went to Minnesota, and opening an office, 
became identified with the interests of that 
state, and the northwest generally. In 
1858 he took his place in the Minnesota 
delegation in the national house of repre- 
sentatives, at Washington, and continued 
to represent his constituency in that body 
for ten years. In 1871 Mr. Windom was 
elected United States senator from Min- 
nesota, and was re-elected to the same office 
after fulfilling the duties of the position for 
a full term, in 1876. On the inauguration 
of President Garfield, in March, 1881, Mr. 
Windom became secretary of the treasury 
in his cabinet. He resigned this office Oc- 
tober 27, 1 88 1, and was elected senator 
from the North Star state to fill the va- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



130 



cancy caused by the resignation of ^. J. 
Edgerton. Mr. W'indoin served in that 
chamber until March, 1883. 

William Windotn died in New York 
City January 29, 1891. 



DON M. DICKINSON, an American 
politician and lawyer, was born in 
Port Ontario, New York, January 17, 1846. 
He removed with his parents to Michigan 
when he was but two years old. He was 
educated in the public schools of Detroit 
and at the University of Michigan at Ann 
Arbor, and was admitted to the bar at the 
age of twenty-one. In 1872 he was made 
secretary of the Democratic state central 
committee of Michigan, and his able man- 
agement of the campaign gave him a prom- 
inent place in the councils of his party. In 
1876, during the Tilden campaign, he acted 
as chairman of the state central committee. 
He was afterward chosen to represent his 
state in the Democratic national committee, 
and in 1886 he was appointed postmaster- 
general by President Cleveland. After the 
expiration of his term of office he returned 
to Detroit and resumed the practice of law. 
In the presidential campaign of 1896, Mr. 
Dickinson adhered to the "gold wing "of 
the Democracy, and his influence was felt 
in the national canvass, and especially in 
his own state. 



JOHN JACOB ASTOR. the founder of 
kJ the Astor family and fortunes, while not 
a native of this country, was one of the 
most noted men of his time, and as all his 
wealth and fame were acquired here, he 
may well be classed among America's great 
men. He was born near Heidelberg, Ger- 
many, July 17, 1763, and when twenty 
years old emigrated to the United States. 
Even at that age he exhibited remarkable 



business ability and foresight, and soon he 
was investing capital in furs which he took 
to London and sold at a great profit. He 
ne.xt settled at New York, and engaged ex- 
tensively in the fur trade. He exported 
furs to Europe in his own vessels, which re- 
turned with cargoes of foreign commodities, 
and thus he rapidly amassed an immense 
fortune. In 181 1 he founded Astoria on 
the western coast of North America, near 
the mouth of the Columbia river, as a depot 
for the fur trade, for the promotion of 
which he sent a number of expeditions to 
the Pacific ocean. He also purchased a 
large amount of real estate in New York, 
the value of which increased enormously 
All through life his business ventures were 
a series of marvelous successes, and he 
ranked as one of the most sagacious and 
successful business men in the world. He 
died March 29, 1848, leaving a fortune es- 
timated at over twenty million dollars to 
his children, who have since increased it. 
John Jacob Astor left $400,000 to found a 
public library in New York City, and his son, 
William B. Astor, who died in 1875, left 
$300,000 to add to his father's bequest. 
This is known as the Astor Library, one of 
the largest in the United States. 



SCHUYLER COLFAX, an eminent 
American statesman, was born in New 
York City, March 23, 1823, being a grand- 
son of General William Colfax, the com- 
mander of Washington's life-guards. In 
1836 he removed with his mother, who was 
then a widow, to Indiana, settling at South 
Bend. Young Schuyler studied law, and 
in 1845 became editor of the "St. Joseph 
Valley Register," a Whig paper published 
at South Bend. He was a member of the 
convention which formed a new constitu- 
tion for Indiana in 1850, and he opposed 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



the clause that prohibited colored men 
from settling in that state. In 1851 he was 
defeated as the Whig candidate for congress 
but was elected in 1854, and, being repeat- 
edly re-elected, continued to represent that 
district in congress until 1869. He became 
one of the most prominent and influential 
members of the house of representatives, 
and served three terms as speaker. During 
the Civil war he was an active participant 
in all public measures of importance, and 
was a confidential friend and adviser of 
President Lincoln. In May, 1868, Mr. 
Colfax was nominated for vice-president on 
the ticket with General Grant, and was 
elected. After the close of his term he re- 
tired from office, and for the remainder of 
his life devoted much of his time to lectur- 
ing and literary pursuits. His death oc- 
curred January 23, 1885. He was one of 
the most prominent members of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows in America, 
and that order erected a bronze statue to 
his memory in University Park, Indianapo- 
lis, Indiana, which was unveiled in May, 



WILLIAM FREEMAN VILAS, who at- 
tained a national reputation as an able 
lawyer, statesman, and cabinet officer, was 
born at Chelsea, Vermont, July 9, 1840. 
His parents removed to Wisconsin when 
our subject was but eleven years of age, 
and there with the early settlers endured all 
the hardships and trials incident to pioneer 
life. William F. Vilas was given all the 
advantages found in the common schools, 
and supplemented this by a course of study 
in the Wisconsin State University, after 
which he studied law, was admitted to the 
bar and began practicing at Madison. 
Shortly afterward the Civil war broke out 
and Mr. Vilas enlisted and became colonel 



of the Twenty-third regiment of Wisconsin 
Volunteers, serving throughout the war with 
distinction. At the close of the war he re- 
turned to Wisconsin, resumed his law prac- 
tice, and rapidly rose to eminence in this 
profession. In 1885 he was selected by 
President Cleveland for postmaster-general 
and at the close of his term again returned 
to Madison, Wisconsin, to resume the prac- 
tice of law. 

THOMAS McINTYRE COOLEY, an em- 
inent American jurist and law writer, 
was born in Attica, New York, January 6, 
1824. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, 
and four years later was appointed reporter 
of the supreme court of Michigan, which 
office he continued to hold for seven years. 
In the meantime, in 1859, he became pro- 
fessor of the law department of the Univer- 
sity of Michigan, and soon afterward was 
made dean of the faculty of that depart- 
ment. In 1864 he was elected justice of 
the supreme court of Michigan, in 1867 be- 
came chief justice of that court, and in 
1869 was re-elected for a term of eight 
years. In 1881 he again joined the faculty 
of the University of Michigan, assuming the 
professorship of constitutional and adminis- 
trative law. His works on these branches 
have become standard, and he is recog- 
nized as authority on this and related sub- 
jects. Upon the passage of the inter-state 
commerce law in 1887 he became chairman 
of the commission and served in that capac- 
ity four years. 



JOHN PETER ALTGELD, a noted 
American politician and writer on social 
questions, was born in Germany, December 
30, 1847. He came to America with his 
parents and settled in Ohio when two years 
old. In 1864 he entered the Union army 



COMPENDIUM OF BTOGRAPHT. 



141 



and served till the close of the war, after 
which he settled in Chicago, Illinois. He 
was elected judge of the superior court of 
Cook county, Illinois, in 1886, in which 
capacity he served until elected governor of 
Illinois in 1892, as a Democrat. During 
the first year of his term as governor he at- 
tracted national attention by his pardon of 
the anarchists convicted of the Haymarket 
murder in Chicago, and again in 1894 by 
his denunciation of President Cleveland for 
calling out federal troops to suppress the 
rioting in connection with the great Pull- 
man strike in Chicago. At the national 
convention of the Democratic party in Chi- 
cago, in July, 1896, he is said to have in- 
spired the clause in the platform denuncia- 
tory of interference by federal authorities in 
local affairs, and "government by injunc- 
tion." He was gubernatorial candidate for 
re-election on the Democratic ticket in 1896, 
but was defeated by John R. Tanner, Re- 
publican. Mr. Altgeld published two vol- 
umes of essays on " Live Questions," evinc- 
ing radical views on social matters. 



ADLAI EWING STEVENSON, an Amer. 
ican statesman and politician, was born 
in Christian county, Kentucky, October 23, 
1835, and removed with the family to 
Bloomington, Illinois, in 1852. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1858, and set- 
tled in the practice of his profession 
in Metamora, Illinois. In 1861 he was 
made master in chancery of Woodford 
county, and in 1864 was elected state's at- 
torney. In 1 868 he returned to Blooming- 
ton and formed a law partnership with 
James S. Ewing. He had served as a pres- 
idential elector in 1864, and in 1868 was 
elected to congress as a Democrat, receiv- 
ing a majority vote from every county in his 
district. He became prominent in his 



party, and was a delegate to the national 
convention in 1884. On the election of 
Cleveland to the presidency Mr. Stevenson 
was appointed first assistant postmaster- 
general. After the expiration of his term 
he continued to e.xert a controlling influence 
in the politics of his state, and in 1892 was 
elected vice-president of the United States 
on the ticket with Grover Cleveland. At 
the expiration of his term of office he re- 
sumed the practice of law at Bloomington, 
Illinois. 

SIMON CAMERON, whose name is 
prominently identified with the history 
of the United States as a political leader 
and statesman, was born in Lancaster coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799. He grew 
to manhood in his native county, receiving 
good educational advantages, and develop- 
ing a natural inclination for political life. 
He rapidly rose in prominence and became 
the most influential Democrat in Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1845 was elected by that party 
to the United States senate. Upon the 
organization of the Republican party he was 
one of the first to declare his allegiance to 
it, and in 1856 was re-elected United States 
senator from Pennsylvania as a Republican. 
In March, 1861, he was appointed secretary 
of war by President Lincoln, and served 
until early in 1862, when he was sent as 
minister to Russia, returning in 1863. In 
1866 he was again elected United States 
senator and served until 1877, when he re- 
signed and was succeeded by his son, James 
Donald Cameron. He continued to exert a 
powerful influence in political affairs up to 
the time of his death, June 26, 1889. 

James Donald Cameron was the eld- 
est son of Simon Cameron, and also 
attained a high rank among American 
statesmen. He was born at Harrisburg, 



142, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, and received an 
excellent education, graduating at Princeton 
College in 1852. He rapidly developed into 
one of the most able and successful business 
men of the country and was largely inter- 
ested in and identified with the develop- 
ment of the coal, iron, lumber and manu- 
facturing interests of his native state. He 
served as cashier and afterward president of 
the Middletownbank, and in 1861 was made 
vice-president, and in 1863 president of 
the Northern Central railroad, holding this 
position until 1874, when he resigned and 
was succeeded by Thomas A. Scott. This 
road was of great service to the government 
during the war as a means of communica- 
tion between Pennsylvania and the national 
capital, via Baltimore. Mr. Cameron also 
took an active part in political affairs, 
always as a Republican. In May, 1876, 
he was appointed secretary of war in Pres- 
ident Grant's cabinet, and in 1877 suc- 
ceeded his father in the United States 
senate. He was re-elected in 1885, and 
again in 1891, serving until 1896, and was 
recognized as one of the most prominent and 
influential members of that body. 



ADOLPHUS W. GREELEY, a famous 
American arctic e.xplorer, was born at 
Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 27, 
1844. He graduated from Brown High 
School at the age of sixteen, and a year 
later enlisted in Company B, Nineteenth 
Massachusetts Infantry, and was made first 
sergeant. In 1863 he was promoted to 
second lieutenant. After the war he was 
assigned to the Fifth United States Cavalry, 
and became first lieutenant in 1873. He 
was assigned to duty in the United States 
signal service shortly after the close of the 
war. An expedition was fitted out by the 
United States government in 1881, un- 



der auspices of the weather bureau, and 
Lieutenant Greeley placed in command. 
They set sail from St. Johns the first week 
in July, and after nine days landed in Green- 
land, where they secured the services of two 
natives, together with sledges, dogs, furs 
and equipment. They encountered an ice 
pack early in August, and on the 28th of 
that month freezing weather set in. Two 
of his party, Lieutenant Lockwood and Ser- 
geant Brainard, added to the known maps 
about forty miles of coast survey, and 
reached the highest point yet attained by 
man, eighty-three degrees and twenty-four 
minutes north, longitude, forty-four degrees 
and five minutes west. On their return to 
Fort Conger, Lieutenant Greeley set out 
for the south on August 9, 1883. He 
reached Baird Inlet twenty days later with 
his entire party. Here they were compelled 
to abandon their boats, and drifted on an 
ice-floe for one month. They then went 
into cainp at Cape Sabine, where they suf- 
fered untold hardships, and eighteen of the 
party succumbed to cold and hunger, and 
had relief been delayed two days longer 
none would have been found alive. They 
were picked up by the relief expedition, 
under Captain Schley, June 22, 1884. The 
dead were taken to New York for burial. 
Many sensational stories were published 
concerning the expedition, and Lieutenant 
Greeley prepared an exhaustive account 
of his explorations and experiences. 



LEVI P. MORTON, the millionaire poli- 
tician, was born in Shoreham, Ver- 
mont, May 16, 1824, and his early educa- 
tion consisted of the rudiments which he 
obtained in the common school up to the 
age of fourteen, and after that time what 
knowledge he gained was wrested from the 
hard school of experience. He removed to 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Hanover, Vermont, then Concord, Vermont, 
and afterwards to Boston. He had worked 
in a store at Shoreham, his native village, 
and on going to Hanover he established a 
store and went into business for himself. 
In Boston he clerked in a dry goods store, 
and then opened a business of his own in 
the same line in New York. After a short 
career he failed, and was compelled to set- 
tle with his creditors at only fifty cents on 
the dollar. He began the struggle anew, 
and when the war began he established a 
banking house in New York, with Junius 
Morgan as a partner. Through his firm 
and connections the great government war 
loans were floated, and it resulted in im- 
mense profits to his house. When he was 
again thoroughly established he invited his 
former creditors to a banquet, and under 
each guest's plate was found a check cover- 
ing the amount of loss sustained respec- 
tively, with interest to date. 

President Garfield appointed Mr. Mor- 
ton as minister to France, after he had de- 
clined the secretaryship of the navy, and in 
1888 he was nominated as candidate for 
vice-president, with Harrison, and elected. 
In 1894 he was elected governor of New 
York over David B. Hill, and served one 
term. 



CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, one 
of the most talented and prominent 
educators this country has known, was born 
January 24, 1835, at Derby, Vermont. He 
received an elementary education in the 
common schools, and studied two terms in 
the Derby Academy. Mr. Adams moved 
with his parents to Iowa in 1856. He was 
very anxious to pursue a collegiate course, 
but this was impossible until he had attained 
the age of twenty-one. In the autumn of 
1856 he began the study of Latin and Greek 



at Denmark Academy, and in September, 
1857, he was admitted to the University of 
Michigan. Mr. Adams was wholly depend- 
ent upon himself for the means of his edu- 
cation. During his third and fourth year 
he became deeply interested in historical 
studies, was assistant librarian of the uni- 
versity, and determined to pursue a post- 
graduate course. In 1864 he was appointed 
instructor of history and Latin and was ad- 
vanced to an assistant professorship in 1865, 
and in 1867, on the resignation of Professor 
White to accept the presidency of Cornell, 
he was appointed to fill the chair of profes- 
sor of history. This he accepted on con- 
dition of his being allowed to spend a year 
for special study in Germany, France and 
Italy. Mr. Adams returned in 1868, and 
assumed the duties of his professorship. 
He introduced the German system for the 
instruction of advanced history classes, and 
his lectures were largely attended. In 1885, 
on the resignation of President White at 
Cornell, he was elected his successor and 
held the office for seven years, and on Jan- 
uary 17, 1893, he was inaugurated presi- 
dent of the University of Wisconsin. Pres- 
ident Adams was prominently connected 
with numerous scientific and literary organ- 
izations and a frequent contributor to the 
historical and educational data in the peri- 
odicals and journals of the country. He 
was the author of the following: " Dem- 
ocracy and Monarchy in France," " Manual 
of Historical Literature," " A Plea for Sci- 
entific Agriculture," " Higher Education in 
Germany." 

JOSEPH B. FORAKER, a prominent po- 
litical leader and ex-governor of Ohio, 
was born near Rainsboro, Highland county, 
Ohio, July 5, 1846. His parents operated 
a small farm, with a grist and sawmill, hav- 



144 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



ing emigrated hither from Virginia and 
Delaware on account of their distaste for 
slavery. 

Joseph was reared upon a farm until 
1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth 
Ohio Infantry. Later he was made ser- 
geant, and in 1864 commissioned first lieu- 
tenant. The next year he was brevetted 
captain. At the age of nineteen he was 
mustered out of the army after a brilliant 
service, part of the time being on the staff 
of General Slocum. He participated in the 
battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mount- 
ain and Kenesaw Mountain and in Sher- 
man's march to the sea. 

For two years subsequent to the war 
young Foraker was studying at the Ohio 
Wesleyan University at Delaware, but later 
went to Cornell University, at Unity, New 
York, from which he graduated July i, 
1869. He studied law and was admitted to 
the bar. In 1879 Mr. Foraker was elected 
judge of the superior court of Cincinnati 
and held the office for three years. In 1883 
he was defeated in the contest for the gov- 
ernorship with Judge Hoadly. In 1885, 
however, being again nominated for the 
same office, he was elected and served two 
terms. In 1889, in running for governor 
again, this time against James E. Camp- 
bell, he was defeated. Two years later his 
career in the United States senate began. 
Mr. Foraker was always a prominent figure 
at all national meetings of the Republican 
party, and a strong power, politically, in his 
native state. 



preacher and author. Lyman Abbott was 
born December 18, 1835, in Roxbury, 
Massachusetts. He graduated at the New 
York University, in 1853, studied law, and 
practiced for a time at the bar, after which 
he studied theology with his uncle. Rev. 
John S. C. Abbott, and in i860 was settled 
in the ministry at Terre Haute, Indiana, re- 
maining there until after the close of the 
war. He then became connected with the 
Freedmen's Commission, continuing this 
until 1868, when he accepted the pastorate 
of the New England Congregational church, 
in New York City. A few years later he re- 
signed, to devote his time principally to lit- 
erary pursuits. For a number of years he 
edited for the American Tract Society, its 
"Illustrated Christian Weekly," also the 
New York "Christian Union." He pro- 
duced many works, which had a wide circu- 
lation, among which may be mentioned the 
following: "Jesus of Nazareth, His Life and 
Teachings," "Old Testament Shadows of 
New Testament Truths," "Morning and 
Evening Exercises, Selected from Writings 
of Henry Ward Beecher," " Laicus, or the 
Experiences of a Layman in a Country 
Parish," "Popular Religious Dictionary," 
and "Commentaries on Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, John and Acts." 



LYMAN ABBOTT, an eminent American 
preacher and writer on religious sub- 
jects, came of a noted New England 
family. His father. Rev. Jacob Abbott, was 
a prolific and popular writer, and his uncle, 
Rev. John S. C. Abbott, was a noted 



GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS.— The 
well-known author, orator and journal- 
ist whose name heads this sketch, was born 
at Providence, Rhode Island, February 24, 
1824. Having laid the foundation of a 
most excellent education in his native land, 
he went to Europe and studied at the Uni- 
versity of Berlin. He made an extensive 
tour throughout the Levant, from which he 
returned home in 1850. At that early age 
literature became his field of labor, and in 
1 85 1 he published his first important work, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



145 



" Nile Notes of a Howadji." In 1852 two 
works issued from his facile pen, "The 
Howadji in Syria," and " Lotus-Eating. " 
Later on he was the author of the well- 
known " Potiphar Papers," " Prue and L" 
and "Trumps." He greatly distinguished 
himself throughout this land as a lecturer 
on many subjects, and as an orator had but 
few peers. He was also well known as one 
of the most fluent speakers on the stump, 
making many political speeches in favor of 
the Republican party. In recognition of 
his valuable services, Mr. Curtis was ap- 
pointed by President Grant, chairman of 
the advisory board of the civil service. Al- 
though a life-long Republican, Mr. Curtis 
refused to support Blaine for the presidency 
in 1884, because of his ideas on civil ser- 
vice and other reforms. For his memorable 
and magnificent eulogy on Wendell Phillips, 
delivered in Boston, in 1884, that city pre- 
sented Mr. Curtis with a gold medal. 

George W. Curtis, however, is best 
known to the reading public of the United 
States by his connection with the Harper 
Brothers, having been editor of the "Har- 
per's Weekly," and of the " Easy Chair," 
in " Harper's Monthly Magazine, "for many 
years, in fact retaining that position until 
the day of his death, which occurred August 
31. iS9^- 

ANDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth 
president of the United States, served 
from 1865 to 1869. He was born Decem- 
ber 8, 1808, at Raleigh, North Carolina, 
and was left an orphan at the age of four 
years. He never attended school, and was 
apprenticed to a tailor. While serving his 
apprenticeship he suddenly acquired a pas- 
sion for knowledge, and learned to read. 
From that time on he spent all his spare 
time in reading, and after working for two 



years as a journeyman tailor at Lauren's 
Court House, South Carolina, he removed 
to Greenville, Tennessee, where he worked 
at his trade and was married. Under his 
wife's instruction he made rapid progress in 
his studies and manifested such an interest 
in local politics as to be elected as " work- 
ingmen's candidate " alderman in 1828, and 
in 1830 to the mayoralty, and was twice 
re-elected to each office. Mr. Johnson 
utilized this time in cultivating his talents 
as a public speaker, by taking part in a de- 
bating society. He was elected in 1835 to 
the lower house of the legislature, was re- 
elected in 1839 as a Democrat, and in 
1 84 1 was elected state senator. Mr. John- 
son was elected representative in congress 
in 1843 and was re-elected four times in 
succession until 1853, when he was the suc- 
cessful candidate for the gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. He was re-elected in 1855 
and in 1857 he entered the United States 
senate. In i860 he was supported by the 
Tennessee delegation to the Democratic 
convention for the presidential nomination, 
and lent his 'influence to the Breckinridge 
wing of the party. At the election of Lin- 
coln, which brought about the first attempt 
at secession in December, i860, Mr. John- 
son took a firm attitude in the senate for 
the Union. He was the leader of the loy- 
alists in East Tennessee. By the course 
that Mr. Johnson pursued in this crisis he 
was brought prominently before the north- 
ern people, and when, in March, 1862, he 
was appointed military governor of Ten- 
nessee with the rank of brigadier-general, 
he increased his popularity by the vigorous 
manner in which he labored to restore 
order. In the campaign of 1864 he was 
elected vice-president on the ticket with 
President Lincoln, and upon the assassi- 
nation of the latter he succeeded to the 



146 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



presidency, April 15, 1865. He retained 
the cabinet of President Lincoln, and at 
first exhibited considerable severity towards 
the former Confederates, but he soon inau- 
gurated a policy of reconstruction, pro- 
claimed a general amnesty to the late Con- 
federates, and established provisional gov- 
ernments in the southern states. These 
states claimed representation in congress in 
the following December, and then arose the 
momentous question as to what should be 
the policy of the victorious Union against 
their late enemies. The Republican ma- 
jority in congress had an apprehension that 
the President would undo the results of the 
war, and consequently passed two bills over 
the executive veto, and the two highest 
branches of the government were in open 
antagonism. The cabinet was reconstructed 
in July, and Messrs. Randall, Stanbury and 
Browning superseded Messrs. Denison, 
Speed and Harlan. In August, 1867, Pres- 
ident Johnson removed the secretary of war 
and replaced him with General Grant, but 
when congress met in December it refused 
to ratify the removal of Stanton, who re- 
sumed the functions of his office. In 1868 
the president again attempted to remove 
Stanton, who refused to vacate his post 
and was sustained by the senate. Presi- 
dent Johnson was accused by congress of 
high crimes and misdemeanors, but the trial 
resulted in his acquittal. Later he was Uni- 
ted States senator from Tennessee, and 
died July 31, 1875. 



EDMUND RANDOLPH, first attorney- 
general of the United States, was born 
in Virginia, August 10, 1753. His father, 
John Randolph, was attorney-general of 
Virginia, and lived and died a royalist. Ed- 
mund was educated in the law, but joined 
the army as aide-de-camp to Washington 



in 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He 
was elected to the Virginia convention in 
1776, and attorney-general of the state the 
same year. In 1779 he was elected to the 
Continental congress, and served four years 
in that body. He was a member of the con- 
vention in 1787 that framed the constitu- 
tion. In that convention he proposed what 
was known as the " Virginia plan" of con- 
federation, but it was rejected. He advo- 
cated the ratification of the constitution in 
the Virginia convention, although he had re- 
fused to sign it. He became governor of 
Virginia in 1788, and the next year Wash- 
ington appointed him to the office of at- 
torney-general of the United States upon 
the organization of the government under 
the constitution. He was appointed secre- 
tary of state to succeed Jefferson during 
Washington's second term, but resigned a 
year later on account of differences in the 
cabinet concerning the policy pursued to- 
ward the new French republic. He died 
September 12, 181 3. 



W INFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK was 
born in Montgomery county, Penn- 
sylvania, February 14, 1S24. He received 
Tiis early education at the Norristown 
Academy, in his native county, and, in 1840, 
was appointed a cadet in the United States 
Military Academy, at West Point. He was 
graduated from the latter in 1844, and brev- 
etted as second lieutenant of infantry. In 
1853 he was made first lieutenant, and two 
years later transferred to the quartermaster's 
department, with the rank of captain, and 
in 1863 promoted to the rank of major. He 
served on the frontier, and in the war with 
Mexico, displaying conspicuous gallantry dur- 
ing the latter. He also took a part in the 
Seminole war, and in the troubles in Kan- 
sas, in 1857, and in California, at the out- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



147 



break of the Civil war, as chief quarter- 
master of the Southern district, he exerted 
a powerful influence. In 1861 he applied 
for active duty in the field, and was assigned 
to the department of Kentucky as chief 
quartermaster, but before entering upon that 
duty, was appointed brigadier-general of 
volunteers. His subsequent history during 
the war was substantially that of the Army 
of the Potomac. He participated in the 
campaign, under McClellan, and led the 
gallant charge, which captured Fort Magru- 
der, won the day at the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, and by services rendered at 
Savage's Station and other engagements, 
won several grades in the regular service, 
and was recommended by McClellan for 
major-general of volunteers. He was a con- 
spicuous figure at South Mountain and An- 
tietam. He was commissioned major-gen- 
eral of volunteers, November 29, 1862, and 
made commander of the First Division of 
the Second Corps, which he led at Fred- 
ricksburg and at Chancellorsville. He was 
appointed to the command of the Second 
Corps in June, 1863, and at the battle of 
Gettysburg, July i, 2 and 3, of that year, 
took an important part. On his arrival on 
the field he found part of the forces then 
in retreat, but stayed the retrograde 
movement, checked the enemy, and on the 
following day commanded the left center, 
repulsed, on the third, the grand assault of 
General Lee's army, and was severely 
wounded. For his services on that field 
General Hancock received the thanks of 
congress. On recovering from his wound, 
he was detailed to go north to stimulate re- 
cruiting and fill up the diminished corps, and 
was the recipient of many public receptions 
and ovations. In March, 1864, he returned 
to his command, and in the Wilderness and 
at Spottsylvania led large bodies of men 



successfully and conspicuously. From that 
on to the close of the campaign he was a 
prominent figure. In November, 1864, he 
was detailed to organize the First Veteran 
Reserve Corps, and at the close of hostilities 
was appointed to the command of the Mid- 
dle Military Division. In July, 1866, he 
was made major-general of the regular 
service. He was at the head of various 
military departments until 1872, when he 
was assigned to the command of the Depart- 
ment of the Atlantic, which post he held 
until his death. In 1869 he declined the 
nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. 
He was the nominee of the Democratic 
party for president, in 1880, and was de- 
feated by General Garfield, who had a popu- 
lar majority of seven thousand and eighteen 
and an electoral majority .of fifty-nine. Gen- 
eral Hancock died February 9, 1886. 



THO.MAS PAINE, the most noted polit- 
ical and deistical writer of the Revolu- 
tionary period, was born in England, Jan- 
uary 29, 1737, of Quaker parents. Hisedu- 
cation was. obtained in the grammar schools 
of Thetford, his native town, and supple- 
mented by hard private study while working 
at his trade of stay-maker at London and 
other cities of England. He was for a time 
a dissenting preacher, although he did not 
relinquish his employment. He married a 
revenue official's daughter, and wasemployed 
in the revenue service for some time. He 
then became a grocer and duringall this time 
he was reading and cultivating his literary 
tastes, and had developed a clear and forci- 
ble style of composition. He was chosen to 
represent the interests of the excisemen, 
and published a pamphlet that brought 
him considerable notice. He was soon after- 
ward introduced to Benjamin Franklin, and 
having been dismissed from the service on a 



148 



COMrENDIUM OF BIOGRArHT 



charge of smuggling, his resentment led him 
to accept the advice of that statesman to 
come to America, in 1774. He became 
editor of the " Pennsylvania Magazine," and 
the next year published his "Serious 
Thoughts upon Slavery" in the "Penn- 
sylvania Journal." His greatest political 
work, however, was written at the sugges- 
tion of Dr. Rush, and entitled "Common 
Sense." It was the most popular pamphlet 
written during the period and he received 
two thousand five hundred dollars from the 
state of Pennsylvania in recognition of its 
value. His periodical, the "Crisis," began 
in 1776, and its distribution among the 
soldiers did a great deal to keep up the spirit 
of revolution. He was made secretary of 
the committee of foreign affairs, but was dis- 
missed for revealing diplomatic secrets in 
one of his controversies with Silas Deane. 
He was originator and promoter of a sub- 
scription to relieve the distress of the soldiers 
near the close of the war, and was sent to 
France with Henry Laurens to negotiate the 
treaty with France, and was granted three 
thousand dollars by congress for his services 
there, and an estate at New Rochelle, by the 
state of New York. 

In 1787, after the close of the Revolu- 
tionary war, he went to France, and a few 
years later published his " Rights of Man," 
defending the French revolution, which 
gave him great popularity in France. He 
w-as made a citizen and elected to the na- 
tional convention at Calais. He favored 
banishment of the king to America, and 
opposed his execution. He was imprisoned 
for about ten months during 1794 by the 
Robespierre party, during which time he 
wrote the " Age of Reason," his great deis- 
tical work. He was in danger of the guillo- 
tine for several months. He took up his 
residence with the family of James Monroe, 



then minister to France and was chosen 
again to the convention. He returned 
to the United States in 1802, and was 
cordially received throughout the coun- 
try except at Trenton, where he was insulted 
by Federalists. He retired to his estate at 
New Rochelle, and his death occurred June 
8, 1809. 

JOHN WILLIAM MACKAY was one of 
America's noted men, both in the de- 
velopment of the western coast and the 
building of the Mackay and Bennett cable. 
He was born in 1831 at Dublin, Ireland; 
came to New York in 1840 and his boyhood 
days were spent in Park Row. He went 
to California some time after the argonauts 
of 1849 and took to the primitive methods 
of mining — -lost and won and finally drifted 
into Nevada about i860. The bonanza dis- 
coveries which were to have such a potent 
influence on the finance and statesmanship 
of the day came in 1872. Mr. Mackay 
founded the Nevada Bank in 1878. He is 
said to have taken one hundred and 
fifty million dollars in bullion out of 
the Big Bonanza mine. There were as- 
sociated with him in this enterprise James 
G. Fair, senator from Nevada; William 
O'Brien and James C. Flood. When 
vast wealth came to Mr. Mackay he be- 
lieved it his duty to do his country some 
service, and he agitated in his mind the 
building of an American steamship line, 
and while brooding over this his attention 
was called to the cable relations between 
America and Europe. The financial man- 
agement of the cable was selfish and ex- 
travagant, and the capital was heavy with 
accretions of financial " water" and to pay 
even an apparent dividend upon the sums 
which represented the nominal value of the 
cables, it was necessary to hold the rates 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



149 



at an exorbitant figure. And, moreover, 
the cables were foreign; in one the influence 
of France being paramount and in the other 
that of England; and in the matter of intel- 
ligence, so necessary in case of war, we 
would be at the mercy of our enemies. This 
train of thought brought Mr. Mackay into re- 
lation with James Gordon Bennett, the pro- 
prietor of the " New York Herald." The 
result of their intercourse was that Mr. Mac- 
kay so far entered into the enthusiasm of 
Mr. Bennett over an independent cable, 
that he offered to assist the enterprise with 
five hundred thousand dollars. This was the 
inception of the Commercial Cable Com- 
pany, or of what has been known for years 
as the Mackav-Bennett cable. 



ELISHA GRAY, the great inventor and 
electrician, was born August 2, 1835. 
at Barnesville, Belmont county, Ohio. He 
was, as a child, greatly interested in the 
phenomena of nature, and read with avidity 
all the books he could obtain, relating to 
this subject. He was apprenticed to various 
trades during his boyhood, but his insatiable 
thirst for knowledge dominated his life and 
he found time to study at odd intervals. 
Supporting himself by working at his trade, 
he found time to pursue a course at Oberlin 
College, where he particularly devoted him- 
self to the study of physicial science. Mr. 
Gray secured his first patent for electrical 
or telegraph apparatus on October i, 1867. 
His attention was first attracted to tele- 
phonic transmission during this year and he 
saw in it a way of transmitting signals for 
telegraph purposes, and conceived the idea 
of electro-tones, tuned to different tones in 
the scale. He did not then realize the im- 
portance of his invention, his thoughts being 
employed on the capacity of the apparatus 
for transmitting musical tones through an 



electric circuit, and it was not until 1874 
that he was again called to consider the re- 
production of electrically-transmitted vibra- 
tions through the medium of animal tissue. 
He continued experimenting with various 
results, which finally culminated in his 
taking out a patent for his speaking tele- 
phone on February 14, 1876. He took out 
fifty additional patents in the course of 
eleven years, among which were, telegraph 
switch, telegraph repeater, telegraph annun- 
ciator and typewriting telegraph. From 
1869 until 1873 he was employed in the 
manufacture of telegraph apparatus in Cleve- 
land and Chicago, and filled the office of 
electrician to the Western Electric Com- 
pany. He was awarded the degree of D. 
S. , and in 1874 he went abroad to perfect 
himself in acoustics. Mr. Gray's latest in- 
vention was known as the telautograph or 
long distance writing machine. Mr. Gray 
wrote and published several works on scien- 
tific subjects, among which were: "Tele- 
graphy and Telephony," and "Experi- 
mental Research in Electro-Harmonic Tele- 
graphy and Telephony." 



WHITELAW REID.— Among the many 
men who have adorned the field of 
journalism in the United States, few stand 
out with more prominence than the scholar, 
author and editor whose name heads this ar- 
ticle. Born at Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, 
October 27, 1837, he graduated at Miami 
University in 1856. For about a year he 
was superintendent of the graded schools of 
South Charleston, Ohio, after which he pur- 
chased the "Xenia News," which he edited 
for about two years. This paper was the 
first one outside of Illinois to advocate the 
nomination of Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Reid 
having been a Republican since the birth of 
that party in 1856. After taking an active 



150 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHV. 



part in the campaign, in the winter of 1860- 
61, he went to the state capital as corres- 
pondent of three daily papers. At the close 
of the session of the legislature he became 
city editor of the "Cincinnati Gazette," 
and at the breaking out of the war went to 
the front as a correspondent for that journal. 
For a time he served on the staff of General 
Morris in West Virginia, with the rank of 
captain. Shortly after he was on the staff 
of General Rosecrans, and, under the name 
of "Agate," wrote most graphic descrip- 
tions of the movements in the field, espe- 
cially that of the battle ol Pittsburg Land- 
ing. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Reid went 
to Washington and was appointed librarian 
to the house of representatives, and acted as 
correspondent of the " Cincinnati Gazette." 
His description of the battle of Gettysburg, 
written on the field, gained him added 
reputation. In 1865 he accompanied Chief 
Justice Chase on a southern tour, and pub- 
lished "After the War; a Southern Tour. " 
During the next two years he was engaged 
in cotton planting in Louisiana and Ala- 
bama, and published "Ohio in the War. " 
In 1868 he returned to the " Cincinnati Ga- 
zette," becoming one of its leading editors. 
The same year he accepted the invitation of 
Horace Greeley and became one of the staff 
on the " New York Tribune." Upon the 
death of Mr. Greeley in 1872, Mr. Reid be- 
came editor and chief proprietor of that 
paper. In 1878 he was tendered the United 
States mission to Berlin, but declined. The 
offer was again made by the Garfield ad- 
ministration, but again he declined. In 
1878 he was elected by the New York legis- 
lature regent of the university, to succeed 
General John A. Dix. Under the Harrison 
administration he served as United States 
minister to France, and in 1892 was the 
Republican nominee for the vice-presidency 



of the United States. Among other works 
published by him were the " Schools of 
Journalism," "The Scholar in Politics," 
"Some Newspaper Tendencies," and 
"Town-Hall Suggestions." 



GEORGE WHITEFIELD was one of 
the most powerful and effective preach- 
ers the world has ever produced, swaying 
his hearers and touching the hearts of im- 
mense audiences in a manner that has rarely 
been equalled and never surpassed. While 
not a native of America, yet much of his 
labor was spent in this country. He wielded 
a great influence in the United States in 
early days, and his death occurred here; so 
that he well deserves a place in this volume 
as one of the most celebrated men America 
has known. 

George Whitefield was born in the Bull 
Inn, at Gloucester, England, December 16, 
17 14. He acquired the rudiments of learn- 
ing in St. Mary's grammar school. Later 
he attended Oxford University for a time, 
where he became intimate with the Oxford 
Methodists, and resolved to devote himself 
to the ministry. He was ordained in the 
Gloucester Cathedral June 20, 1836, and 
the following day preached his first sermon 
in the same church. On that day there 
commenced a new era in Whitefield's life. 
He went to London and began to preach at 
Bishopsgate church, his fame soon spread- 
ing over the city, and shortly he was en- 
gaged four times on a single Sunday in ad- 
dressing audiences of enormous magnitude, 
and he preached in various parts of his native 
country, the people crowding in multitudes 
to hear him and hanging upon the rails and 
rafters of the churches and approaches there- 
to. He finally sailed for America, landing 
in Georgia, where he stirred the people to 
great enthusiasm. During the balance of 



:!^ 




COMPENDIL'M OF BIOGRAPHr. 



158 



his life he divided his time between Great 
Britain and America, and it is recorded that 
he crossed the Atlantic thirteen times. He 
came to America for the seventh time in 
1770. He preached every day at Boston 
from the 17th to the 20th of September, 
1770, then traveled to Newburyport, preach- 
ing at Exeter, New Hampshire, September 
29, on the way. That evening he went to 
Newburyport, where he died the next day, 
Sunday, September 30, 1770. 

•' Whitefield's dramatic power was amaz- 
ing, " says an eminent writer in describing 
him. " His voice was marvelously varied, 
and he ever had it at command — an organ, 
a flute, a harp, all in one. His intellectual 
powers were not of a high order, but he had 
an abundance of that ready talent and that 
wonderful magnetism which makes the pop- 
ular preacher; and beyond all natural en- 
dowments, there was in his ministry the 
power of evangelical truth, and, as his con- 
verts believed, the presence of the spirit of 
God." 

CHARLES FRANCIS BRUSH, one of 
America's prominent men in the devel- 
opment of electrical science, was born March 
17, 1849, near Cleveland, Ohio, and spent 
his early life on his father's farm. From 
the district school at Wickliffe, Ohio, he 
passed to the Shaw Academy at Collamer, 
and then entered the high school at Cleve- 
land. His interest in chemistry, physics 
and engineering was already marked, and 
during his senior year he was placed in 
charge of the chemical and physical appar- 
atus. During these years he devised a plan 
for lighting street lamps, constructed tele- 
scopes, and his first electric arc lamp, also 
an electric motor. In September, 1867, he 
entered the engineering department of the 

University of Michigan and graduated in 
8 



1869, which was a year in advance of his 
class, with the degree of M. E. He then 
returned to Cleveland, and for three years 
was engaged as an analytical chemist and 
for four years in the iron business. In 
1875 Mr. Brush became interested in elec- 
tric lighting, and in 1876, after four months* 
experimenting, he completed the dynamo- 
electric machine that has made his name 
famous, and in a shorter time produced the 
series arc lamps. These were both patent- 
ed in the United States in 1876, and he 
afterward obtained fifty patents on his later 
inventions, including the fundamental stor- 
age battery, the compound series, shunt- 
winding for dynamo-electric machines, and 
the automatic cut-out for arc lamps. His 
patents, two-thirds of which have already 
been profitable, are held by the Brush 
Electric Company, of Cleveland, while his 
foreign patents are controlled by the Anglo- 
American Brush Electric Light Company, 
of London. In 1880 the Western Reserve 
University conferred upon Mr. Brush the 
degree of Ph. D., and in 1881 the French 
government decorated him as a chevalier of 
the Legion of Honor. 



HENRY CLEWS, of Wall-street fame, 
was one of the noted old-time opera- 
tors on that famous street, and was also an 
author of some repute. Mr. Clews was 
born in Staffordshire, England, August 14, 
1840. His father had him educated with 
the intention of preparing him for the minis- 
try, but on a visit to the United States the 
young man became interested in a business 
life, and was allowed to engage as a clerk in 
the importing house of Wilson G. Hunt & 
Co., of New York. Here he learned the 
first principles of business, and when the war 
broke out in 1861 young Clews saw in the 
needs of the government an opportunity to 



154 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHV. 



reap a golden harvest. He identified him- 
self with the negotiating of loans for the 
government, and used his powers of pur- 
suasion upon the great money powers to 
convince them of the stability of the govern- 
ment and the value of its securities. By 
enthusiasm and patriotic arguments he in- 
duced capitalists to invest their money in 
government securities, often against their 
judgment, and his success was remarkable. 
His was one of the leading firms that aided 
the struggling treasury department in that 
critical hour, and his reward was great. In 
addition to the vast wealth it brought. 
President Lincoln and Secretary Chase 
both wrote important letters, acknowledging 
his valued service. In 1873, by the repu- 
diation of the bonded indebtedness of the 
state of Georgia, Mr. Clews lost six million 
dollars which he had invested in those se- 
curities. It is said that he is the only man, 
with one exception, in Wall street, who 
ever regained great wealth after utter dis- 
aster. His " Twenty-Eight Years in Wall 
Street " has been widely read. 



ALFRED VAIL was one of the men that 
gave to the world the electric telegraph 
and the names of Henry, Morse and Vail 
will forever remain linked as the prime fac- 
tors in that great achievement. Mr. Vail 
was born September 25, 1807, at Morris- 
town, New Jersey, and was a son of Stephen 
Vail, the proprietor of the Speedwell Iron 
Works, near Morristown. At the age of 
seventeen, after he had completed his stud- 
ies at the Morristown Academy, Alfred Vail 
went into the Speedwell Iron Works and 
contented himself with the duties of his 
position until he reached his majority. He 
then determined to prepare himself for the 
ministry, and at the age of twenty-five he 
entered the University of the City of New 



York, where he waS graduated in 1836. His 
health becoming impaired he labored for a 
tim.e under much uncertainty as to his future 
course. Professor S. F. B. Morse had come 
to the university in 1835 as professor of lit- 
erature and fine arts, and about this time, 

1837, Professor Gale, occupying the chair 
of chemistry, invited Morse to exhibit his 
apparatus for the benefit of the students. 
On Saturday, September 2, 1837, the exhi- 
bition took place and Vail was asked to at- 
tend, and with his inherited taste for me- 
chanics and knowledge of their construction, 
he saw a great future for the crude mechan- 
ism used by Morse in giving and recording 
signals. Mr. Vail interested his father in 
the invention, and Morse was invited to 
Speedwell and the elder Vail promised to 
help him. It was stipulated that Alfred 
Vail should construct the required apparatus 
and exhibit before a committee of congress 
the telegraph instrument, and was to receive 
a quarter interest in the invention. Morse 
had devised a series of ten numbered leaden 
types, which were to be operated in giving 
the signal. This was not satisfactory to 
Vail, so he devised an entirely new instru- 
ment, involving a lever, or "point," on a 
radically different principle, which, when 
tested, produced dots and dashes, and de- 
vised the famous dot-and-dash alphabet, 
misnamed the "Morse." At last the ma- 
chine was in working order, on January 6, 

1838. The machine was taken to Wash- 
ington, where it caused not only wonder, 
but excitement. Vail continued his experi- 
ments and devised the lever and roller. 
When the line between Baltimore and 
Washington was completed. Vail was sta- 
tioned at the Baltimore end and received 
the famous first message. It is a remarka- 
ble fact that not a single feature of the 
original invention of Morse, as formulated 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPlir. 



155 



by his caveat and repeated in his original 
patent, is to be found in Vail's apparatus. 
From 1S37 to 1844 it was a combination of 
the inventions of Morse, Henry and Vail, 
but the work of Morse fell gradually into 
desuetude, while Vail's conception of an 
alphabet has remained unchanged for half a 
century. Mr. Vail published but one work, 
"American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph," 
in 1845, and died at Morristown at the com- 
paratively early age of fifty-one, on January 
19. 1859- 

ULYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth 
president of the United States, was 
born April 27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Cler- 
mont county, Ohio. At the age of seven- 
teen he entered the United States Military 
Academy at West Point, from which he 
graduated in June, 1843, ^nd was given his 
brevet as second lieutenant and assigned to 
the Fourth Infantry. He remained in the 
service eleven years, in which time he 
was engaged in the Mexican war with gal- 
lantry, and was thrice brevetted for conduct 
in the field. In 1848 he married Miss Julia 
Dent, and in 1854, having reached the 
grade of captain, he resigned and engaged 
in farming near St. Louis. In i860 he en- 
tered the leather business with his father at 
Galena, Illinois. 

On the breaking out of the war, in 1861, 
he commenced to drill a company at Ga- 
lena, and at the same time offered his serv- 
ices to the adjutant-general of the army, 
but he had few influential friends, so re- 
ceived no answer. He was employed by 
the governor of Illinois in the organization 
of the various volunteer regiments, and at 
the end of a few weeks was given the 
colonelcy of the Twenty-first Infantry, from 
that state. His military training and knowl- 
edge soon attracted the attention of his su- 



perior officers, and on reporting to General 
Pope in Missouri, the latter put him in 
the way of advancement. August 7, 1861, 
he was promoted to the rank of brigadier- 
general of volunteers, and for a few weeks 
was occupied in watching the movements of 
partisan forces in Missouri. September i, 
the same year, he was placed in commarrd 
of the Department of Southeast Missouri, 
with headquarters at Cairo, and on the 6th 
of the month, without orders, seized Padu- 
cah, which commanded the channel of the 
Ohio and Tennessee rivers, by which he se- 
cured Kentucky for the Union. He now 
received orders to make a demonstration on 
Belmoat, which he did, and with about three 
thousand raw recruits held his own against 
the Confederates some seven thousand 
strong, bringing back about two hundred 
prisoners and two guns. In February,! 1862, 
he moved up the Tennessee river with 
the naval fleet under Commodore Foote. 
The latter soon silenced Fort Henry, and 
Grant advanced against Fort Donelson and 
took their fortress and its garrison. His 
prize here consisted of sixty-five cannon, 
seventeen thousand six hundred stand of 
arms, and fourteen thousand six hundred 
and twenty-three prisoners. This was the 
first important success won by the Union 
forces. Grant was immediately made a 
major-general and placed in command of 
the district of West Tennessee. In April, 
1862, he fought the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
ing, and after the evacuation of Corinth by 
the enemy Grant became commander of the 
Department of the Tennessee. He now 
made his first demonstration toward Vicks- 
burg, but owing to the incapacity of subor- 
dinate officers, was unsuccessful. In Janu- 
ary, 1863, he took command of all the 
troops in the Mississippi Valley and devoted 
several months to the siege of Vicksburg, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



which was finally taken possession of by him 
Julj' 4, with thirty-one thousand six hundred 
prisoners and one hundred and seventy-two 
cannon, thus throwing the Mississippi river 
open to the Federals. He was now raised 
to the rank of major-general in the regular 
army. October following, at the head of 
the Department of the Mississippi, General 
Grant went to Chattanooga, where he over- 
threw the enemy, and united with the Army 
of the Cumberland. The remarkable suc- 
cesses achieved by him pointed Grant out 
for an appropriate commander of all na- 
tional troops, and in February, 1864, the 
rank of lieutenant-general was made for him 
by act of congress. Sending Sherman into 
Georgia, Sigel into the Valley of West Vir- 
ginia and Butler to attempt the capture of 
Richmond he fought his way through the 
Wilderness to the James and pressed the 
siege of the capital of the Confederacy. 
After the fall of the latter Grant pressed 
the Confederate army so hard that their 
commander surrendered at Appomattox 
Court House, April 9, 1865. This virtually 
ended the war. 

After the war the rank of general was 
conferred upon U. S. Grant, and in 1868 he 
was elected president of the United States, 
and re-elected his own successor in 1872. 
After the expiration of the latter term he 
made his famous tour of the world. He died 
at Mt. McGregor, near Saratoga, New York, 
July 23, 1885, and was buried at Riverside 
Park, New York, where a magnificent tomb 
has been erected to hold the ashes of the 
nation's hero. 



JOHN MARSHALL, the fourth chief jus- 
tice of the United States supreme court, 
was born in Germantown, Virginia, Septem- 
ber 24, 1755. His father, Colonel Thomas 
Marshall, served with distinction in the Rev- 



olutionary war, while he also served from 
the beginning of the war until 1779, where 
he became noted in the field and courts 
martial. While on detached service he at- 
tended a course of law lectures at William 
and Mary College, delivered by Mr. Wythe, 
and was admitted to the bar. The next year 
he resigned his commission and began his 
career as a lawyer. He was a distinguished 
member of the convention called in Virginia 
to ratify the Federal constitution. He was 
tendered the attorney-generalship of the 
United States, and also a place on the su- 
preme bench, besides other places of less 
honor, all of which he declined. He 
went to France as special envoy in 1798, 
and the next year was elected to congress. 
He served one year and was appointed, first, 
secretary of war, and then secretary of state, 
and in 1801 was made chief justice of the 
United States. He held this high office un- 
til his death, in 1835. 

Chief Justice Marshall's early education 
was neglected, and his opinions, the most 
valuable in existence, are noted for depth 
of wisdom, clear and comprehensive reason- 
ing, justice, and permanency, rather than for 
wide learning and scholarly construction. 
His decisions and rulings are resorted to 
constantly by our greatest lawyers, and his 
renown as a just judge and profound jurist 
was world wide. 



LAWRENCE BARRETT is perhaps 
known more widely as a producer of 
new plays than as a great actor. He was 
born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1838, and 
educated himself as best he could, and at 
the age of sixteen years became salesman 
for a Detroit dry goods house. He after- 
wards began to go upon the stage as a 
supernumerary, and his ambition was soon 
rewarded by the notice of the management. 



COMPENDIU?ir OF BIOGRAPHr. 



157 



During the war of the Rebellion he was a 
soldier, and after valiant service for his 
country he returned to the stage. He went 
to Europe and appeared in Liverpool, and 
returning in 1869, he began plajing at 
Booth's theater, with Mr. Booth. He was 
afterward associated with John McCullough 
in the management of the California 
theater. Probably the most noted period 
of his work was during his connection with 
Edwin Booth as manager of that great 
actor, and supporting him upon the stage. 
Mr. Barrett was possessed of the crea- 
tive instinct, and, unHke Mr. Booth, he 
sought new fields for the display of his 
genius, and only resorted to traditional 
drama in response to popular demand. He 
preferred new plays, and believed in the 
encouragement of modern dramatic writers, 
and was the only actor of prominence in his 
time that ventured to put upon the stage 
new American plays, which he did at his 
own expense, and the success of his experi- 
ments proved the quality of his judgment. 
He died March 21, 1891. 



ARCHBISHOP JOHN HUGHES, a cel- 
ebrated Catholic clergyman, was born 
at Annaboghan, Tyrone county, Ireland, 
June 24, 1797, and emigrated to America 
when twenty years of age, engaging for 
some time as a gardener and nurseryman. 
In 1819 Jie entered St. Mary's College, 
where he secured an education, paying his 
way by caring for the college garden. In 
1825 he was ordained a deacon of the Ro- 
man Catholic church, and in the same year, 
a priest. Until 1838 he had pastoral charges 
in Philadelphia, where he founded St. John's 
Asylum in 1829, and a few years later es- 
tablished the "Catholic Herald." In 1838 
he was made bishop of Basileopolis /« parti- 
bus and coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, of 



New York, and in 1842 became bishop of 
New York. In 1839 he founded St. John's 
College, at Fordham. In 1850 he was 
made archbishop of New York. In 186 1-2 
he was a special agent of the United States 
in Europe, after which he returned to this 
country and remained until his death, Jan- 
uary 3, 1864. Archbishop Hughes early 
attracted much attention by his controver- 
sial correspondence with Rev. John Breck- 
inridge in 1S33-35. He was a man of great 
ability, a fluent and forceful writer and an 
able preacher. 



RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES 
was the nineteenth president of the 
United States and served from 1 877 to 1881. 
He was born October 4, 1822, at Delaware, 
Ohio, and his ancestry can be traced back 
as far as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford 
were two Scottish chieftans fighting side by 
side with Baliol, William Wallace and 
Robert Bruce. The Hayes family had for 
a coat of arms, a shield, barred and sur- 
mounted by a flying eagle. There was a 
circle of stars about the eagle, while on a 
scroll underneath was their motto, "Recte." 
Misfortune overtook the family and in 1680 
George Hayes, the progenitor of the Ameri- 
can family, came to Connecticut and settled 
at Windsor. Rutherford B. Hayes was 
a very delicate child at his birth and was 
not expected to live, but he lived in spite of 
all and remained at home until he was 
seven years old, when he was placed in 
school. He was a very tractable pupil, being 
always very studious, and in 1838 entered 
Kenyon College, graduating from the same 
in 1842. He then took up the study of law 
in the office of Thomas Sparrow at Colum- 
bus, but in a short time he decided to enter 
a law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
where for two years he was immersed in the 



158 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



study of law. Mr. Hayes was admitted to 
the bar in 1845 in Marietta, Ohio, and very 
soon entered upon the active practice of his 
profession with Ralph P. Buckland, of 
Fremont, Ohio. He remained there three 
years, and in 1849 removed to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where his ambition found a new 
stimulus. Two events occurred at this 
period that had a powerful influence on his 
afterlife. One was his marriage to Miss 
Lucy Ware Webb, and the other was his 
introduction to a Cincinnati hterary club, 
a body embracing such men as Salmon P. 
Chase, John Pope, and Edward F. Noyes. 
In 1856 he was nominated for judge of the 
court of common pleas, but declined, and 
two years later he was appointed city 
solicitor. At the outbreak of the Rebellion 
Mr. Hayes was appointed major of the 
Twenty-third Ohio Infantry, June 7, 1861, 
and in July the regiment was ordered to 
Virginia, and October 15, i86i,saw him 
promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of his 
regiment. He was made colonel of the 
Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, but refused to 
leave his old comrades; and in the battle of 
South Mountain he was wounded very 
severely and was unable to rejoin his regi- 
ment until November 30, 1862. He had 
been promoted to the colonelcy of the 
regiment on October 15, 1862. In the 
following December he was appointed to 
command the Kanawa division and was 
given the rank of brigadier-general for 
meritorious services in several battles, and 
in 1864 he was brevetted major-general for 
distinguished services in 1864, during 
which campaign he was wounded several 
times and five horses had been shot under 
him. Mr. Hayes' first venture in politics 
was as a Whig, and later he was one of the 
first to unite with the Republican party. In 
1864 he was elected from the Second Ohio 



district to congress, re-elected in 1866, 
and in 1867 was elected governor of Ohio 
over Allen G. Thurman, and was re-elected 
in 1869. Mr. Hayes was elected to the 
presidency in 1876, for the term of four 
years, and at its close retired to private life, 
and went to his home in Fremont, Ohio, 
where he died on January 17, 1893. 



WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN became 
a celebrated character as the nominee 
of the Democratic and Populist parties for 
president of the United States in 1896. He 
was born March 19, i860, at Salem, Illi- 
nois. He received his early education in 
the public schools of his native county, and 
later on he attended the Whipple Academy 
at Jacksonville. He also took a course in 
Illinois College, and after his graduation 
from the same went to Chicago to study 
law, and entered the Union College of Law 
as a student. He was associated with the 
late Lyman Trumbull, of Chicago, during 
his law studies, and devoted considerable 
time to the questions of government. He 
graduated from the college, was admitted to 
the bar, and went to Jacksonville, Illinois, 
where he was married to Miss Mary Eliza- 
beth Baird. In 1887 Mr. Bryan removed 
to Lincoln, Nebraska, and formed a law 
partnership with Adolphus R. Talbot. He 
entered the field of politics, and in 1888 
was sent as a delegate to the state con- 
vention, which was to choose delegates to 
the national convention, during which he 
made a speech which immediately won him 
a high rank in political affairs. He declined, 
in the next state convention, a nomination 
for lieutenant-governor, and in 1890 he was 
elected congressman from the First district 
of Nebraska, and was the youngest member 
of the fifty-second congress. He cham- 
pioned the Wilson tariff bill, and served 



COMrENDIC'M OF BIOGRAPHr. 



159 



three terms in the house of representatives. 
He next ran for senator, but was defeated 
by John M. Thurston, and in 1896 he was 
selected by the Democratic and Populist 
parties as their nominee for the presidency, 
being defeated by William McKinley. 



MARVIN HUGHITT, one of America s 
famous railroad men, was born in 
Genoa, New York, and entered the railway 
service in 1856 as superintendent of tele- 
graph and trainmaster of the St. Louis, Al- 
ton & Chicago, now Chicago & Alton Rail- 
road. Mr. Hughitt was superintendent of 
the southern division of the Illinois Central 
Railroad from 1862 until 1864, and was, later 
on, the general superintendent of the road 
until 1870. He was then connected with 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road as assistant general manager, and re- 
tained this position until 1871, when he be- 
came the general manager of Pullman's 
Palace Car Company. In 1872 he was made 
general superintendent of the Chicago & 
Northwestern Railroad. He served during 
1876 and up to 1880 as general manager, 
and from 1880 until 1887 as vice-presi- 
dent and general manager. He was elected 
president of the road in 1887, in recog- 
nition of his ability in conducting the 
affairs of the road. He was also chosen 
president of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minne- 
apolis & Omaha Railway; the Fremont, Elk- 
horn & Missouri Valley Railroad, and the 
Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad, 
and his services in these capacities stamped 
him as one of the most able railroad mana- 
gers of his day. 



JOSEPH MEDILL, one of the most 
eminent of American journalists, was 
born in New Brunswick, Canada, April 6, 
1823. In 1831 his father moved to Stark 



county, Ohio, and until 1841 Joseph Medill 
worked on his father's farm. Later he 
studied law, and began the practice of that 
profession in 1846 at New Philadelphia, 
Ohio. But the newspaper field was more 
attractive to Mr. Medill, and three years 
later he founded a free-soil Whig paper at 
Coshocton, Ohio, and after that time jour- 
nalism received all his abilities. "The 
Leader, " another free-soil Whig paper, was 
founded by Mr. Medill at Cleveland in 1852. 
In that city he also became one of the first 
organizers of the Republican party. Shortly 
after that event he removed to Chicago and 
in 1855, with two partners, he purchased 
the " Chicago Tribune." In the contest for 
the nomination for the presidency in i860, 
Mr. Medill worked with unflagging zeal for 
Mr. Lincoln, his warm personal friend, and 
was one of the president's stanchest sup- 
porters during the war. Mr. Medill was a 
member of the Illinois Constitutional con- 
vention in 1870. President Grant, in 1871, 
appointed the editor a member of the first 
United States civil service commission, and 
the following year, after the fire, he was 
elected mayor of Chicago by a great ma- 
jority. During 1873 and 1874 Mr. Medill 
spent a year in Europe. Upon his return 
he purchased a controlling interest in the 
" Chicago Tribune." 



CLAUSSPRECKELS, the great " sugar 
baron," and one of the most famous 
representatives of commercial life in Amer- 
ica, was born in Hanover, Germany, and 
emigrated to the United States in 1840, 
locating in New York. He very soon be- 
came the proprietor of a small retail gro- 
cery store on Church street, and embarked 
on a career that has since astonished the 
world. He sold out his business and went 
to California with the argonauts of 1849, 



160 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



not as a prospector, but as a trader, and for 
years after his arrival on the coast he was 
still engaged as a grocer. At length, after a 
quarter of a century of fairly prosperous 
business life, he found himself in a position 
where an ordinary man would have retired, 
but Mr. Spreckles did not retire; he had 
merely been gathering capital for the real 
work of his life. His brothers had followed 
him to California, and in combination with 
them he purchased for forty thousand dollars 
an interest in the Albany Brewery in San 
Francisco. But the field was not extensive 
enough for the development of his business 
abilities, so Mr. Sprecklas branched out 
extensively in the sugar business. He suc- 
ceeded in securing the entire output of 
sugar that was produced on the Sand- 
wich Islands, and after 1885 was known as 
the "Sugar King of Sandwich Islands." 
He controlled absolutely the sugar trade of 
the Pacific coast which was known to be 
not less than ten million dollars a year. 

CHARLES HENRY PARKHURST, 
famous as a clergyman, and for many 
years president of the Society for the 
Prevention of Crime, was born April 17, 
1842, at Framingham, Massachusetts, of 
English descent. At the age of sixteen 
he was pupil in the grammar school at 
Clinton, Massachusetts, and for the ensu- 
ing two years was a clerk in a dry goods 
store, which position he gave up to prepare 
himself for college at Lancaster academy. 
Mr. Parkhurst went to Amherst in 1862, 
and after taking a thorough course he gradu- 
ated in 1866, and in 1867 became the prin- 
cipal of the Amherst High School. He re- 
tained this position until 1870, when he 
visited Germany with the intention of tak- 
ing a course in philosophy and theology, 
but was forced to abandon this intention on 



account of illness in the family causing his 
early return from Europe. He accepted the 
chair of Latin and Greek in Williston Semi- 
nary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, and re- 
mained there two years. He then accom- 
panied his wife to Europe, and devoted two 
years to study in Halle, Leipsic and Bonn. 
Upon his return home he spent considerable 
time in the study of Sanscrit, and in 1874 
he became the pastor of the First Congrega- 
tional church at Lenox, Massachusetts. He 
gained here his reputation as a pulpit ora- 
tor, and on March 9, 1880, he became the 
pastor of the Madison Square Presbyterian 
church of New York. He was, in 1890, 
made a member of the Society for the Pre- 
vention of Crime, and the same year be- 
came its president. He delivered a sermon 
in 1892 on municipal corruption, for which 
he was brought before the grand jury, which 
body declared his charges to be without suffi- 
cient foundation. But the matter did not end 
here, for he immediately went to work on a 
second sermon in which he substantiated his 
former sermon and wound up by saying, 
"I know, for I have seen." He was again 
summoned before that august body, and as 
a result of his testimony and of the investi- 
gation of the jurors themselves, the police 
authorities were charged with incompetency 
and corruption. Dr. Parkhurst was the 
author of the following works: ' ' The Forms 
of the Latin Verb, Illustrated by Sanscrit," 
"The Blind Man's Creed and Other Ser- 
mons," "The Pattern on the Mount," and 
" Three Gates on a Side." 



HENRY BERGH, although a writer, 
diplomatist and government official, 
was noted as a philanthropist — the founder 
of the American Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals. On his labors for 
the dumb creation alone rests his fame. 



COMPENDIVM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



161 



Alone, in the face of indifference, opposition 
and ridicule, he began the reform which is 
now recognized as one of the beneficent 
movements of the age. Through his exer- 
tions as a speaker and lecturer, but above 
all as a bold worker, in the street, in the 
court room, before the legislature, the cause 
he adopted gained friends and rapidly in- 
creased in power until it has reached im- 
mense proportions and influence. The work 
of the society covers all cases of cruelty to 
all sorts of animals, employs every moral 
agency, social, legislative and personal, and 
touches points of vital concern to health as 
well as humanity. 

Henry Bergh was born in New York 
City in 1823, and was educated at Colum- 
bia College. In 1863 he was made secre- 
tary of the legation to Russia and also 
served as vice-consul there. He also de- 
voted some time to literary pursuits and was 
the author of "Love's Alternative," a 
drama; "Married Off," a poem; ""The 
Portentous Telegram," "The Ocean Para- 
gon;" "The Streets of New York," tales 
and sketches. 



HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, one 
of the most eminent of American di- 
vines, was born in Adams, Jefferson county. 
New York, February 15, 1822. He was 
brought up in the mercantile business, and 
early in life took an active interest in polit- 
ical affairs. In 1847 he became a candidate 
for holy orders and pursued theological 
studies with Rev. W. D. Wilson, D. D., 
afterward professor in Cornell University. 
He was ordained deacon in 1849, in Trinity 
church, Geneva, New York, by Rt. Rev. 
W. H. De Lancey, D. D., and took charge 
of Zion church, Rome, New York, Decem- 
ber I, 1849. In 1850, our subject was or- 
dained priest by Bishop De Lancey. In 



1857 he became rector of the Church of the 
Holy Communion, Chicago. On the 30th 
of June, 1859, he was chosen bishop of 
Minnesota, and took charge of the interests 
of the Episcopal church in that state, being 
located at Faribault. In i86o Bishop 
Whipple, with Revs. I. L. Breck, S. W. 
Mauncey and E. S. Peake, organized the 
Bishop Seabury NRssion, out of which has 
grown the Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior, 
the Seabury Divinity School, Shattuck 
School and St. Mary's Hall, which have 
made Faribault City one of the greatest 
educational centersof the northwest. Bishop 
Whipple also became noted as the friend 
and defender of the North American In- 
dians and planted a number of successful 
missions among them. 



EZRA CORNELL was one of the greatest 
philanthropists and friends of education 
the country has known. He was born at 
Westchester Landing, New York, January 
II, 1807. He grew to manhood in his na- 
tive state and became a prominent figure in 
business circles as a successful and self-made 
man. Soon after the invention of the elec- 
tric telegraph, he devoted his attention to 
that enterprise, and accumulated an im- 
mense fortune. In 1865, by a gift of five 
hundred thousand dollars, he made possible 
the founding of Cornell University, which 
was named in his honor. He afterward 
made additional bequests amounting to many 
hundred thousand dollars. His death oc- 
curred at Ithaca, New York, December 9, 
1874. 



IGNATIUS DONNELLY, widely known 
1 as an author and politician, was born in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 3, 
1 83 1. He was educated at the public 
schools of that city, and graduated from the 



162 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Central High School in 1849. He studied 
law in the office of Judge B. H. Brewster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1852. In 
the spring of 1856, Mr. Donnelly emigrated 
to Minnesota, then a new territory, and, at 
Hastings, resumed the practice of law in 
partnership with A. M. Hayes. In 1857, 
and again in 1858, he was defeated for state 
senator, but in 1859 he was elected by the 
Republicans as lieutenant-governor, and re- 
elected in 1 86 1. In 1862 he was elected to 
represent the Second district of Minnesota 
in congress. He was re-elected to the same 
office in 1864 and in 1866. He was an 
abolitionist and warmly supported President 
Lincoln's administration, but was strongly 
in favor of leniency toward the people of 
the south, after the war. In many ways he 
was identified with some of the best meas- 
ures brought before the house during his 
presence there. In the spring of 1868, at 
the request of the Republican national com- 
mittee, he canvassed New Hampshire and 
Connecticut in the interests of that party. 
E. B. Washburne about this time made an 
attack on Donnelly in one of the papers of 
Minnesota, which was replied to on the floor 
of the house by a fierce phillipic that will 
long be remembered. Through the inter- 
vention of the Washburne interests Mr. Don- 
nelly failed of a re-election in 1870. In 
1873 he was elected to the state senate from 
Dakota county, and continuously re-elected 
until 1878. In 1886 he was elected mem- 
ber of the house for two years. In later 
years he identified himself with the Popu- 
list party. 

In 1882, Mr. Donnelly became known as 
an author, publishing his first literary work, 
"Atlantis, the Antediluvian World," which 
passed through over twenty-two editions in 
America, several in England, and was trans- 
lated into French. This was followed by 



" Ragnarok, the Age of Fire and Gravel," 
which attained nearly as much celebrity as 
the first, and these two, in the opinion of 
scientific critics, are sufficient to stamp the 
author as a most capable and painstaking 
student of the facts he has collated in them. 
The work by which he gained the greatest 
notoriety, however, was ' ' The Great Cryp- 
togram, or Francis Bacon's Cipher in the 
Shakespeare Plays." "Caesar's Column," 
" Dr. Huguet," and other works were pub- 
lished subsequently. 



STEVEN V. WHITE, a speculator of 
Wall Street of national reputation, was 
born in Chatham county, North Carolina, 
August I, 1 83 1, and soon afterward re- 
moved to Illinois. His home was a log 
cabin, and until his eighteenth year he 
worked on the farm. Then after several 
years of struggle with poverty he graduated 
from Kno.x College, and went to St. Louis, 
where he entered a wholesale boot and shoe 
house as bookkeeper. He then studied law 
and worked as a reporter for the "Missouri 
Democrat." After his admission to the bar 
he went to New York, in 1865, and became 
a member of the banking house of Marvin 
& White. Mr. White enjoyed the reputa- 
tion of having engineered the only corner 
in Wall Street since Commodore Vander- 
bilt's time. This was the famous Lacka- 
wanna deal in 1883, in which he made a 
profit of two million dollars. He was some- 
times called " Deacon" White, and, though 
a member for many years of the Plymouth 
church, he never held that office. Mr. 
White was one of the most noted characters 
of the street, and has been called an orator, 
poet, philanthropist, linguist, abolitionist, 
astronomer, schoolmaster, plowboy, and 
trapper. He was a lawyer, ex-congress- 
man, expert accountant, art critic andtheo- 



COMPEXniCM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Idgian. He laid the foundation for a 
"Home for Colored People," in Chatham 
county, North Carolina, where the greater 
part of his father's life was spent, and in 
whose memory the work was undertaken. 



JAMES A. GARFIELD, the twentieth 
president of the United States, was born 
November 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga county, 
Ohio, and was the son of Abram and Eliza 
(Baliou) Garfield. In 1833 the father, an 
industrious pioneer farmer, died, and the 
care of the family devolved upon Thomas, 
to whom James became deeply indebted for 
educational and other advantages. As James 
grew up he was industrious and worked on 
the farm, at carpentering, at chopping wood, 
or anything else he found to do, and in the 
meantime made the most of his books. 

Until he was about si.xteen, James' high- 
est ambition was to become a sea captain. 
On attaining that age he walked to 
Cleveland, and, not being able to find work, 
he engaged as a driver on the Ohio & Penn- 
sylvania canal, but quit this after a short 
time. He attended the seminary at Ches- 
ter for about three years, after which he 
entered Hiram Institute, a school started by 
the Discifiles of Christ in 1850. In order 
to pay his way he assumed the duties of 
janitor and at times taught school. After 
completing his course at the last named edu- 
cational institution he entered Williams Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1856. He 
afterward returned to Hiram College as its 
president. He studied law and was admitted 
to the bar in 1859. November 11, 1858, 
Mr. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph were 
married. 

In 1859 Mr. Garfield made his first polit- 
ical speeches, at Hiram and in the neighbor- 
hood. The same year he was elected to the 
state senate. 



On the breaking out of the war, in 1861, 
he became lieutenant-colonel of the Forty- 
second Ohio Infantry, and, while but a new 
soldier, was given command of four regi- 
ments of infantry and eight companies of 
cavalry, with which he drove the Confeder- 
ates under Humphrey Marshall out of Ken- 
tucky. January 11, 1862, he was commis- 
sioned brigadier-general. He participated 
with General Buell in the battle of Shiloh 
and the operations around Corinth, and was 
then detailed as a member of the Fitz John 
Porter court-martial. Reporting to General 
Rosecrans, he was assigned tp the position 
of chief of staff, and resigned his position, 
with the rank of major-general, when his 
immediate superior was superseded. In 
the fall of 1862 Mr. Garfield was elected to 
congress and remained in that body, either 
in the house or senate, until 1880. 

June 8, 1880, at the national Republican 
convention, held in Chicago, General Gar- 
field was nominated for the presidency, and 
was elected. He was inaugurated March 
4, 1 88 1, but, July 2, following, he was shot 
and fatally wounded by Charles Guiteau for 
some fancied political slight, and died Sep- 
tember 19, 1 88 1. 



INCREASE MATHER was one of the 
1 most prominent preachers, educators and 
authors of early times in the New England 
states. He was born at Dorchester, Massa- 
chusetts, June 21, 1639, and was given an 
excellent education, graduating at Harvard 
in 1656, and at Trinity College, Dublin, 
two years later. He was ordained a min- 
ister, and preached in England and America, 
and in 1664 became pastor of the North 
church, in Boston. In 1685 he became 
president of Harvard University, serving 
until 1701. In 1692 he received the first 
doctorate in divinity conferred in English 



164 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



speaking America. The same year he pro- 
cured in England a new charter for Massa- 
chusetts, which conferred upon himself the 
power of naming the governor, lieutenant- 
governor and council. He opposed the 
severe punishment of witchcraft, and took 
a prominent part in all public affairs of his 
day. He was a prolific writer, and became 
the author of nearly one hundred publica- 
tions, large and small. His death occurred 
August 23, 1723, at Boston. 



COTTON MATHER, a celebrated minis- 
ter in the "Puritan times" of New 
England, was born at Boston, Massachu- 
setts, February 12, 1663, being a son of 
Rev. Increase Mather, and a grandson of 
John Cotton. A biography of his father 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. 
Cotton Mather received his early education 
in his native city, was trained by Ezekiel 
Cheever, and graduated at Harvard College 
in 1678; became a teacher, and in 1684 
was ordained as associate pastor of North 
church, Boston, with his father, having by 
persistent effort overcome an impediment in 
his speech. He labored with great zeal as 
a pastor, endeavoring also, to establish the 
ascendancy of the church and ministry in 
civil affairs, and in the putting down of 
witchcraft by legal sentences, a work in 
which he took an active part and through 
which he is best known in history. He re- 
ceived the degree of D. D. in 17 10, con- 
ferred by the University of Glasgow, and 
F. R. S. in 171 3. His death occurred at 
Boston, February 13, 1728. He was the 
author of many publications, among which 
were " Memorable Providences Relating to 
Witchcraft," "Wonders of the Invisible 
World," "Essays to Do Good," " Mag- 
nalia Christi Americana," and " Illustra- 
tions of the Sacred Scriptures." Some of 



these works are quaint and curious, full ot 
learning, piety and prejudice. A well- 
known writer, in summing up the life and 
character of Cotton Mather, says: ' ' Mather, 
with all the faults of his early years, was a 
man of great excellence of character. He 
labored zealously for the benefit of the 
poor, for mariners, slaves, criminals and 
Indians. His cruelty and credulity were 
the faults of his age, while his philanthro- 
phy was far more rare in that age than in 
the present." 

WILLIAM A. PEFFER, who won a 
national reputation during the time 
he was in the United States senate, was 
born on a farm in Cumberland county, 
Pennsylvania, September 10, 1831. He 
drew his education from the public schools 
of his native state and at the age of f.fteen 
taught school in winter, working on a farm 
in the summer. In June, ^853, while yet a 
young man, he removed to Indiana, and 
opened up a farm in St. Joseph county. 
In 1859 he made his way to Missouri and 
settled on a farm in Morgan county, but on 
account of the war and the unsettled state 
of the country, he moved to Illinois in Feb- 
ruary, 1862, and enlisted as a private in 
Company F, Eighty-third Illinois Infantry, 
the following August. He was promoted 
to the rank of second lieutenant in 
March, 1863, and served successively as 
quartermaster, adjutant, post adjutant, 
judge advocate of a military commission, 
and depot quartermaster in the engineer 
department at Nashville. He was mustered 
out of the service June 26, 1865. He had, 
during his leisure hour.s while in the army, 
studied law, and in August, 1865, he com- 
menced the practice of that profession at 
Clarksville, Tennessee. He removed to 
Kansas in 1870 and practiced there until 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



105 



1878, in the meantime establishing and 
conducting two newspapers, the " Fredonia 
Journal " and " Coffey ville Journal." 

Mr. Peffer was elected to the state senate 
in 1874 and was a prominent and influential 
member of several important committees. 
He served as a presidential elector in 1880. 
The year following he became editor of the 
" Kansas Farmer," which he made a promi- 
nent and useful paper. In 1890 Mr. Peffer 
was elected to the United States senate as 
a member of the People's party and took 
his seat March 4, 1891. After six years of 
service Senator Peffer was succeeded in 
March, 1897, by William A. Harris. 



ROBERT MORRIS.— The name of this 
financier, statesman and patriot is 
closely connected with the early history of 
the United States. He was a native of 
England, born January 20, 1734, and came 
to America with his father when thirteen 
years old. Until 1754 he served in the 
counting house of Charles Willing, then 
formed a partnership with that gentleman's 
son, which continued with great success until 
1793. In 1776 Mr. Morris was a delegate 
to the Continental congress, and, although 
once voting against the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, signed that paper on its adop- 
tion, and was several times thereafter re- 
elected to congress. During the Revolu- 
tionary war the services of Robert Morris 
in aiding the government during its finan- 
cial difficulties were of incalculable value; he 
freely pledged his personal credit for sup- 
plies for the army, atone time to the amount 
of about one and a half million dollars, with- 
out which the campaign of 1781 would have 
been almost impossible. Mr. Morris was 
appointed superintendent of finance in 1781 
and served until 1784, continuing to employ 
his personal credit to facilitate the needs of 



his department. He also served as mem- 
ber of the Pennsylvania legislature, and 
from 1786 to 1795 was United States sena- 
tor, declining meanwhile the position of sec- 
retary of the treasury, and suggesting the 
name of Alexander Hamilton, who was ap- 
pointed to that post. During the latter 
part of his life Mr. Morris was engaged ex- 
tensively in the China trade, and later be- 
came involved in land speculations, which 
ruined him, so that the remaining days of 
this noble man and patriot were passed 
in confinement for debt. His death occurred 
at Philadelphia, May 8, 1806. 

WILLIAM SHARON, a senator and 
capitalist, and mine owner of na- 
tional reputation, was born at Smithfield, 
Ohio, January 9, 1821. He was reared 
upon a farm and in his boyhood given excel- 
lent educational advantages and in 1842 
entered Athens College. He remained in 
that institution about two years, after which 
he studied law with Edwin M. Stanton, and 
was admitted to the bar at St. Louis and 
commenced practice. His health failing, 
however, he abandoned his profession and 
engaged in mercantile pursuits at Carrollton, 
Greene county, Illinois. During the time 
of the gold excitement of 1849, Mr. Sharon 
went to California, whither so many went, 
and engaged in business at Sacramento. 
The next year he removed to San Francisco, 
where he operated in real estate. Being 
largely interested in its silver mines, he re- 
moved to Nevada, locating at Virginia City, 
and acquired an immense fortune. He be- 
came one of the trustees of the Bank of 
California, and during the troubles that 
arose on the death of William Ralston, the 
president of that institution, was largely in- 
strumental in bringing its affairs into a satis- 
factory shape. 



166 



COMPEADIUM or BIOGRAPHY 



Mr. Sharon was elected to represent the 
state of Nevada in the United States senate 
in 1875, and remained a member of that 
body until 1881. He was always distin- 
guished for close application to business. 
Senator Sharon died November 13, 1885. 

HENRY W. SHAW, an American hu- 
morist who became celebrated under 
the non-de-phime of " Josh Billings," gained 
his fame from the witticism of his writing, 
and peculiar eccentricity of style and spell- 
ing. He was born at Lanesborough, Mas- 
sachusetts, in 18 1 8. For twenty-five years 
he lived in different parts of the western 
states, following various lines of business, 
Including farming and auctioneering, and in 
the latter capacity settled at Poughkeepsie, 
New York, in 1858. In 1863 he began 
writing humorous sketches for the news- 
papers over the signature of "Josh Bill- 
ings," and became immediately popular 
both as a writer and lecturer. He pub- 
lished a number of volumes of comic 
sketches and edited an " Annual Allminax " 
for a number of years, which had a wide cir- 
culation. His death occurred October 14, 
1885, at Monterey, California. 



JOHN M. THURSTON, well known 
throughout this country as a senator 
and political leader, was born at Mont- 
pelier, Vermont, August 21, 1847, of an 
old Puritan family which dated back their 
ancestry in this country to 1636, and among 
whom were soldiers of the Revolution and 
of the war of 1812-15. 

Young Thurston was brought west by 
the family in 1854, they settling at Madison, 
Wisconsin, and two years later at Beaver 
Dam, where John M. received his schooling 
in the public schools and at Wayland Uni- 
versity. His father enlisted as a private in 



the First Wisconsin Cavalry and died while 
in the service, in the spring of 1863. 

Young Thurston, thrown on his own 
resources while attaining an education, sup- 
ported himself by farm work, driving team 
and at other manual labor. He studied law 
and was admitted to the bar May 21, 1869, 
and in October of the same year located in 
Omaha, Nebraska. He was elected a 
member of the city council in 1872, city 
attorney in 1874 and a member of the Ne- 
braska legislature in 1874. He was a mem- 
ber of the Republican national convention 
of 1884 and temporary chairman of that of 
1888. Taking quite an interest in the 
younger members of his party he was instru- 
mental in forming the Republican League 
of the United States, of which he was presi- 
dent for two years. He was then elected a 
member of the United States senate, in 
1895, to represent the state of Nebraska. 

As an attorney John M. Thurston occu- 
pied a very prominent place, and for a num- 
ber of years held the position of general 
solicitor of the Union Pacific railroad sys- 
tem. 



JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, a celebrated 
American naturalist, was born in Louis- 
iana, May 4, 1780, and was the son of an 
opulent French naval officer who owned a 
plantation in the then French colony. In 
his childhood he became deeply interested 
in the study of birds and their habits. About 
1794 he was sent to Paris, France, where 
he was partially educated, and studied de- 
signing under the famous painter, Jacques 
Louis David. He returned to the Unit- 
ed States about 1798, and settled on a 
farm his father gave him, on the Perkiomen 
creek in eastern Pennsylvania. He mar- 
ried Lucy Bakewell in 1808, and, disposing 
of his property, removed to Louisville, Ken- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



167 



tuck)', where he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits. About two years later he began to 
make extensive excursions through the pri- 
meval forests of the southern and south- 
western states, in the exploration of which 
he passed many years. He made colored 
drawings of all the species of birds that he 
found. For several years he made his home 
with his wife and children at Henderson, on 
the Ohio river. It is said that about this 
time he had failed in business and was re- 
duced to poverty, but kept the wolf from the 
door by giving dancing lessons and in portrait 
painting. In 1824, at Philadelphia, he met 
Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who encouraged 
him to publish a work on ornithology. Two 
years later he went to England and com- 
menced the publication of his great work, 
"The Birds of America." He obtained a 
large number of subscribers at one thousand 
dollars a copy. This work, embracing five 
volumes of letterpress and five volumes of 
beautifully colored plates, was pronounced 
by Cuvier " the most magnificent monument 
that art ever raised to ornithology." 

Audubon returned to America in 1829, 
and explored the forests, lakes and coast 
from Canada to Florida, collecting material 
for another work. This was his " Ornitho- 
logical Biography; or. An Account of the 
Habits of the Birds of the United States, 
Etc." He revisited England in 1831, and 
returned in 1839, after which he resiaed on 
the Hudson, near New York City, in which 
place he died January 27, 1S51. During 
his life he issued a cheaper edition of his 
great work, and was, in association with 
Dr. Bachman, preparing a work on the 
quadrupeds of North America. 



the superior British squadron, under Com- 
modore Downie, September 1 1, 1 8 14. Com- 
modore McDonough was born in Newcastle 
county, Delaware, December 23, 1783, and 
when seventeen years old entered the 
United States navy as midshipman, serving 
in the expedition to Tripoli, under Decatur, 
in 1803-4. I" 1807 he was promoted to 
lieutenant, and in July, 181 3, was made a 
commander. The following year, on Lake 
Champlain, he gained the celebrated victory 
above referred to, for which he was again 
promoted; also received a gold medal from 
congress, and from the state of Vermont an 
estate on Cumberfend Head, in view of the 
scene of the engagement. His death oc- 
curred at sea, November 16, 1825, whil^ he 
was returning from the command of the 
Mediterranean squadron. 



COMMODORE THOMAS McDON- 
OUGH gained his principal fame from 
he celebrated victory which he gained over 



CHARLES FR.VNCIS HALL, one of 
America's most celebrated arctic ex- 
plorers, was born in Rochester, New Hamp- 
shire, in 1 82 1. He was a blacksmith by 
trade, and located in Cincinnati, where later 
he became a journalist. For several years 
he devoted a great deal of attention to cal- 
orics. Becoming interested in the fate of the 
explorer, Sir John Franklin, he joined the 
expedition fitted out by Henry Grinnell and 
sailed in the ship "George Henry," under 
Captain Buddington, which left New Lon- 
don, Connecticut, in i860. He returned in 
1862, and two years later published his 
" Arctic Researches." He again joined the 
expedition fitted out by Mr. Grinnell, and 
sailed in the ship, " Monticello," under 
Captain Buddington, this time remaining in 
the arctic region over four years. On his 
return he brought back many evidences of 
having found trace of Franklin. 

In 1 87 1 the " Polaris " was fitted out by 
\ the United States government, and Captain 



168 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Hall again sailed for the polar regions. He 
died in Greenland in October, 1871, and the 
"Polaris" was finally abandoned by the 
crew, a portion of which, under Captain 
Tyson, drifted with the icebergs for one 
hundred and ninety-five days, until picked 
up by the " Tigress," on the 30th of April, 
1873. The other portion of the crew built 
boats, and, after a perilous voyage, were 
picked up in June, 1873, by a whaling vessel. 



OLIVER ELLSWORTH, the third chief 
justice of the United States, was born 
at Windsor, Connecticut, April 29, 1745. 
After graduating from Princeton, he took 
up the study of law, and was licensed 
to practice in 1771. In 1777 he was elected 
as a delegate to the Continental congress. 
He was judge of the superior court of his 
state in 1784, and was chosen as a delegate 
to the constitutional convention in 1787. 
He sided with the Federalists, was elected 
to the United States senate in 1789, and 
was a firm supporter of Washington's policy. 
He won great distinction in that body, and 
was appointed chief justice of the supreme 
court of the United States by Washington 
in 1796. The relations between this coun- 
try and France having become violently 
strained, he was sent to Paris as envoy ex- 
traordinary in 1799, and was instrumental 
in negotiating the treaty that averted war. 
He resigned the following year, and was suc- 
ceeded by Chief Justice Marshall. His 
death occurred November 26, 1807. 



MELLVILLE WESTON FULLER, an 
eminent American jurist and chief 
justice of the United States supreme court, 
was born in Augusta, Maine, in 1833. His 
education was looked after in boyhood, and 
at the age of si.xteen he entered Bowdoin 
College, and on graduation entered the law 



department of Harvard University. He then 
entered the law office of his uncle at Ban- 
gor, Maine, and soon after opened an office 
for the practice of law at Augusta. He was 
an alderman from his ward, city attorney, 
and editor of the "Age," a rival newspaper 
of the "Journal," which was conducted by 
James G. Blaine. He soon decided to re- 
move to Chicago, then springing into notice 
as a western metropolis. He at once iden- 
tified himself with the interests of the 
new city, and by this means acquired an 
experience that fitted him for his future 
work. He devoted himself assiduously to 
his profession, and had the good fortune to 
connect himself with the many suits grow- 
ing out of the prorogation of the Illinois 
legislature in 1863. It was not long before 
he became one of the foremost lawyers in 
Chicago. He made a three days' speech in 
the heresy trial of Dr. Cheney, which added 
to his fame. He was appointed chief jus- 
tice of the United States by President Cleve- 
land in 1888, the youngest man who ever 
held that exalted position. His income from 
his practice had for many years reached 
thirty thousand dollars annually. 



CHESTER ALLEN ARTHUR, twenty- 
first president of the United States, was 
born in Franklin county, Vermont, Octo- 
ber 5, 1830. He was educated at Union 
College, Schenectady, New York, from 
which he graduated with honor, and en- 
gaged in teaching school. After two years 
he entered the law office of Judge E. D. 
Culver, of New York, as a student. He was 
admitted to the bar, and formed a partner- 
ship with an old room-mate, Henry D. Gar- 
diner, with the intention of practicing law 
in the west, but after a few months' search 
for a location, they returned to New York 
and opened an office, and at once entered 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIT. 



upon a profitable practice. He was shortly 
afterwards married to a daughter o( Lieu- 
tenant Herndon, of the United States navy. 
Mrs. Arthur died shortly before his nomina- 
tion for the vice-presidency. In 1856 a 
colored woman in New York was ejected 
from a street car and retained Mr. Arthur 
in a suit against the company, and obtained 
a verdict of five hundred dollars. It result- 
ed in a general order by all superintendents 
of street railways in the city to admit col- 
ored people to the cars. 

Mr. Arthur was a delegate to the first 
Republican national convention, and was 
appointed judge-advocate for the Second 
Brigade of New York, and then chief engi- 
neer of Governor Morgan's staff. At the 
close of his term he resumed the practice of 
iaw in New York. In 1872 he was made 
collector of the port of New York, which 
position he held four years. At the Chi- 
cago convention in 1880 Mr. Arthur was 
nominated for the vice-presidency with 
Garfield, and after an exciting campaign 
was elected. Four months after the inau- 
guration President Garfield was assassinated, 
and Mr. Arthur was called to take the reins 
of government. His administration of 
affairs was generally satisfactory. At its 
close he resumed the practice of law in New 
York. His death occurred November 18, 
1886. 

ISAAC HULL was one of the most con- 
spicuous and prominent naval officers in 
the early history of America. He was born 
at Derby, Connecticut, March 9, 1775, be- 
ing the son of a Revolutionary officer. Isaac 
Hull early in life became a mariner, and 
when nineteen years of age became master 
of a merchant ship in the London trade. 
In 1 798 he became a lieutenant in the United 
States navy, and three years later was made 



first lieutenant of the frigate ' • Constitution. " 
He distinguished himself by skill and valor 
against the French on the coast of Hayti, and 
served with distinction in the Barbary e.xpe- 
ditions. July 12, 1812, he sailed from 
Annapolis, in command of the "Constitu- 
tion," and for three days was pursued by a 
British squadron of five ships, from which 
he escaped by bold and ingenious seaman- 
ship. In August of the same year he cap- 
tured the frigate ." Guerriere," one of his 
late pursuers and for this, the first naval 
advantage of that war, he received a gold 
medal from congress. Isaac Hull was later 
made naval commissioner and had command 
of various navy yards. His death occurred 
February 13, 1843, at Philadelphia. 



MARCUS ALONZO HANNA, famous 
as a prominent business man, political 
manager and senator, was born in New Lis- 
bon, Columbiana county, Ohio, September 
24, 1837. He removed with his father's 
family to Cleveland, in the same state, in 
1852, and in the latter city, and in the 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio, 
received his education. He became an em- 
ploye of the wholesale grocery house of 
Hanna, Garrettson & Co., his father being 
the senior member of the firm. The latter 
died in 1862, and Marcus represented his 
interest until 1867, when the business was 
closed up. 

Our subject then became a member of 
the firm of Rhodes & Co., engaged in the 
iron and coal business, but at the expira- 
tion of ten years this firm was changed to 
that of M. A. Hanna & Co. Mr. Hanna 
was long identified with the lake carrying 
business, being interested in vessels on the 
lakes and in the construction of them. As 
a director of the Globe Ship Manufacturing 
Company, of Cleveland, president of the 



170 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Union National Bank, of Cleveland, president 
of the Cleveland City Railway Company, 
and president of the Chapin Mining Com- 
pany, of Lake Superior, he became promi- 
nently identified with the business world. 
He was one of the government directors of 
the Union Pacific Railroad, being appointed 
to that position in 1885 by President Cleve- 
land. 

Mr. Hanna was a delegate to the na- 
tional Republican convention of 1884, which 
was his first appearance in the political 
world. He was a delegate to the con- 
ventions of 1888 and 1896, and was elect- 
ed chairman of the Republican national 
committee the latter year, and practically 
managed the campaign of William McKin- 
ley for the presidency. In 1897 Mr. Hanna 
was appointed senator by Governor Bush- 
nell, of Ohio, to fill the vacancy caused by 
the resignation of John Sherman. 



GEORGE PEABODY was one of the 
best known and esteemed of ail philan- 
thropists, whose munificent gifts to Ameri- 
can institutions have proven of so much 
benefit to the cause of humanity. He was 
born February 18, 1795, at South Danvers, 
Massachusetts, which is now called Pea- 
body in honor of him. He received but a 
meager education, and during his early life 
he was a mercantile clerk at Thetford, Ver- 
mont, and Newburyport, Massachusetts. In 
1814 he became a partner with Elisha 
Riggs, at Georgetown, District of Columbia, 
and in 1815 they moved to Baltimore, M ary- 
land. The business grew to great propor- 
tions, and they opened branch houses at 
New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Peabody 
made several voyages to Europe of com- 
mercial importance, and in 1829 became the 
head of the firm, which was then called 
Peabody, Riggs & Co., and in 1838 he re- 



moved to London, England. He retired 
from the firm, and established the cele- 
brated banking house, in which he accumu- 
lated a large fortune. He aided Mr. Grin- 
nell in fitting out Dr. Kane's Arctic expedi- 
tion, in 1852, and founded in the same year 
the Peabody Institute, in his native town, 
which he afterwards endowed with two hun- 
dred thousand dollars. Mr. Peabody visited 
the United States in 1857, and gave three 
hundred thousand dollars for the establish- 
ment at Baltimore of an institute of science, 
literature and fine arts. In 1862 he gave 
two million five hundred thousand dollars 
for the erecting of lodging houses for the 
poor in London, and on another visit to the 
United States he gave one hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars to establish at Harvard a 
museum and professorship of American 
archaeology and ethnology, an equal sum for 
the endowment of a department of physical 
science at Yale, and gave the "Southern 
Educational Fund" two million one hundred 
thousand dollars, besides devoting two hun- 
dred thousand dollars to various objects of 
public utility. Mr. Peabody made a final 
visit to the United States in 1869, and on 
this occasion he raised the endowment of 
the Baltimore Institute one million dollars, 
created the Peabody Museum, at Salem, 
Massachusetts, with a fund of one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars, gave sixty thou- 
sand dollars to Washington College, Vir- 
ginia; fifty thousand dollars for a "Peabody 
Museum, " at North Danvers, thirty thousand 
dollars to Phillips Academy, Andover; twen- 
ty-five thousand dollars to Kenyon College, 
Ohio, and twenty thousand dollars to the 
Maryland Historical Society. Mr. Peabody 
also endowed an art school at Rome, in 

1868. He died in London, November 4, 

1869, less then a month after he had re- 
I turned from the United States, and his 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



171 



remains were brought to the United States 
and interred in his native town. He made 
several other bequests in his will, and left 
his family about five million dollars. 



M.-\TTHEW S. QUAY, a celebrated 
public man and senator, was born at 
Dillsburgh, York county, Pennsylvania, 
September 30, 1833, of an old Scotch-Irish 
family, some of whom had settled in the 
Keystone state in 1715. Matthew received 
a good education, graduating from the Jef- 
ferson College at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 
at the age of seventeen. He then traveled, 
taught school, lectured, and studied law 
under Judge Sterrett. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1854, was appointed a prothon- 
otary in 1855 and elected to the same 
office in 1856 and 1859. Later he was 
made lieutenant of the Pennsylvania Re 
serves, lieutenant-colonel and assistant com- 
missary-general of the state, private secre- 
tary of the famous war governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, Andrew G. Curtin, colonel of the 
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylva- 
nia Infantry (nine months men), military 
state agent and held other offices at different 
times. 

Mr. Quay was a member of the house of 
representatives of the state of Pennsylvania 
from 1865 to 1868. He filled the office of 
secretary of the commonwealth from 1872 
to 1878, and the position of delegate-at- 
large to the Republican national conventions 
of 1872, 1876, 1880 and 1888. He was the 
editor of the "Beaver Radical" and the 
"Philadelphia Record" for a time, and held 
many offices in the state conventions and on 
their committees. He was elected secre- 
tary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
1869, and served three years, and in 1885 
was chosen state treasurer. In 1886 his 
great abilities pointed him out as the 



natural candidate for United States senator, 
and he was accordingly elected to that posi- 
tion and re-elected thereto in 1892. He 
was always noted for a genius for organiza- 
tion, and as a political leader had but few 
peers. Cool, serene, far-seeing, resourceful, 
holding his impulses and forces in hand, he 
never quailed from any policy he adopted, 
and carried to success most, if not all, of 
the political campaigns in which he took 
part. 

JAMES K. JONES, a noted senator and 
political leader, attained national fame 
while chairman of the national e.xecutive 
committee of the Democratic party in the 
presidential campaign of 1896. He was a 
native of Marshall county, Mississippi, and 
was born September 29, 1839. His father, 
a well-to-do planter, settled in Dallas county, 
Arkansas, in 1848, and there the subject of 
this sketch received a careful education. 
During the Civil war he served as a private 
soldier in the Confederate army. From 
1866 to 1873 he passed a quiet life as a 
planter, but in the latter year was admitted 
to the bar and began the practice of law. 
About the same time he was elected to the 
Arkansas senate and re-elected in 1874. In 
1877 he was made president of the senate 
and the following year was unsuccessful in 
obtaining a nomination as member of con- 
gress. In 1880 he was elected representa- 
tive and his ability at once placed him in a 
foremost position. He was re-elected to 
congress in 1882 and in 1884, and served as 
an influential member on the committee of 
ways and means. March 4, 1885, Mr. Jones 
took his seat in the United States senate to 
succeed James D. Walker, and was after- 
ward re-elected to the same office. In this 
branch of the national legislature his capa- 
bilities had a wider scope, and he was rec- 



"172 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



ognized as one of the ablest leaders of his 
party. 

On the nomination of William J. Bryan 
as its candidate for the presidency by the 
national convention of the Democratic 
party, held in Chicago in 1896, Mr. Jones 
was made chairman of the national com- 
mittee. 

THEODORE THOMAS, one of the most 
celebrated musical directors America 
has known, was born in the kingdom of Han- 
over in 1835, and received his musical educa- 
tion from his father. He was avery apt scholar 
and played the violin at public concerts at 
the age of six years. He came with his 
parents to America in 1845, and joined the 
orchestra of the Italian Opera in New York 
City. He played the first violin in the 
orchestra which accompanied Jenny Lind 
in her first American concert. In 1861 Mr. 
Thomas established the orchestra that be- 
came famous under his management, and 
gave his first symphony concerts in New 
York in 1864. He began his first "summer 
night concerts" in the same city in 1868, 
and in 1869 he started on his first tour of 
the principal cities in the United States, 
which he made every year for many years. 
He was director of the College of Music in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, but resigned in 1880, after 
having held the position for three years. 

Later he organized one of the greatest 
and most successful orchestras ever brought 
together in the city of Chicago, and was 
very prominent in musical affairs during the 
World's Columbian Exposition, thereby add- 
ing greatly to his fame. 



CYRUS HALL McCORMICK, the fa- 
mous inventor and manufacturer, was 
born at Walnut Grove, Virginia, February 
I 5, 1809. When he was seven years old his 



father invented a reaping machine. It was 
a rude contrivance and not successful. In 
183 1 Cyrus made his invention of a reaping 
machine, and had it patented three years 
later. By successive improvements he was 
able to keep his machines at the head of 
its class during his life. In 1 845 he removed 
to Cincinnati, Ohio, and two years later 
located in Chicago, where he amassed a 
great fortune in manufacturing reapers and 
harvesting machinery. In 1859 he estab- 
lished the Theological Seminary of the 
Northwest at Chicago, an institution for pre- 
paring young men for the ministry in the 
Presbyterian church, and he afterward en- 
dowed a chair in the Washington and Lee 
College at Lexington, Virginia. He mani- 
fested great interest in educational and re- 
ligious matters, and by his great wealth he 
was able to extend aid and encouragement 
to many charitable causes. His death oc- 
curred May 13, 1S84. 



DAVID ROSS LOCKE.— Under the 
pen name of Petroleum V. Nasby, this 
well-known humorist and writer made for 
himself a household reputation, and estab- 
lished a school that has many imitators. 

The subject of this article was born at 
Vestal, Broome county. New York, Sep- 
tember 30, 1833. After receiving his edu- 
cation in the county of his birth he en- 
tered the office of the ' ' Democrat, " at Cort- 
land, New York, where he learned the 
printer's trade. He was successively editor 
and publisher of the ' 'Plymouth Advertiser, " 
the "Mansfield Herald," the " Bucyrus 
Journal," and the "Findlay Jeffersonian." 
Later he became editor of the "Toledo 
Blade." In i860 he commenced his 
"Nasby" articles, several series of which 
have been given the world in book form. 
Under a mask of misspelling, and in a auaiot 



COMPEXDirM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



and humorous style, a keen political satire 
is couched — a most effective weapon. 
Mr. Locke was the author of a num- 
ber of serious political pamphlets, and 
later on a more pretentious work, " The 
Morals of Abou Ben Adhem." As a news- 
paper writer he gained many laurels and his 
works are widely read. Abraham Lincoln 
is said to have been a warm admirer of P. 
V. Nasby, of " Confedrit X Roads" fame. 
Mr. Locke died at Toledo, Ohio, February 
15, 1888. 

RUSSELL A. ALGER, noted as a sol- 
dier, governor and secretary of war, 
was born in Medina county, Ohio, February 
27, 1836, and was the son of Russell and 
Caroline (Moulton) Alger. At the age of 
twelve years he was left an orphan and pen- 
niless. For about a year he worked for 
his board and clothing, and attended school 
part of the time. In 1850 he found a place 
which paid small wages, and out of his 
scanty earnings helped his brother and sister. 
While there working on a farm he found 
time to attend the Richfield Academy, and 
by hard work between times managed to get 
a fair education for that time. The last 
two years of his attendance at this institu- 
tion of learning he taught school during the 
winter months. In 1S57 he commenced the 
study of law, and was admitted to the bar 
in 1859. For a while he found employ- 
ment in Cleveland, Ohio, but impaired 
health induced him to remove to Grand 
Rapids, where he engaged in the lumber 
business. He was thus engaged when the 
Civil war broke out, and, his business suf- 
fering and his savings swept away, he en- 
listed as a private in the Second Michigan 
Cavalry. He was promoted to be captain 
the following month, and major for gallant 
conduct at Boonesville, Mississippi, July i. 



1862. October 16, 1862, he was made 
lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Michigan 
Cavalry, and in February, 1863, colonel of 
the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. He rendered 
excellent service in the Gettysburg cam- 
paign. He was wounded at Boonesboro, 
Maryland, and on returning to his command 
took part with Sherman in the campaign in 
the Shenandoah Valley. For services ren- 
dered, that famous soldier recommended 
him for promotion, and he was brevetted 
major-general of volunteers. In 1866 Gen- 
eral Alger took up his residence at Detroit, 
and prospered exceedingly in his business, 
which was that of lumbering, and grew 
quite wealthy. In 1884 he was a delegate 
to the Republican national convention, and 
the same year was elected governor of 
Michigan. He declined a nomination for 
re-election to the latter office, in 1887, and 
was the following year a candidate for the 
nomination for president. In 1889 he was 
elected commander-in-chief of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and at different 
times occupied many offices in other or- 
ganizations. 

In March, 1897, President McKinley 
appointed General Alger secretary of war. 



CYRUS WEST FIELD, the father of 
submarine telegraphy, was the son of 
the Rev. David D. Field, D.D., a Congre- 
gational minister, and was born at Stock- 
bridge, Massachusetts, November 30, 1819. 
He was educated in his native town, and at 
the age of fifteen years became a clerk in a 
store in New York City. Being gifted with 
excellent business ability Mr. Field pros- 
pered and became the head of a large mer- 
cantile house. In 1853 he spent about six 
months in travel in South America. On his 
return he became interested in ocean teleg- 
raphy. Being solicited to aid in the con- 



174 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



struction of a land telegraph across New 
Foundland to receive the news from a line 
of fast steamers it was proposed to run from 
from Ireland to St. Johns, the idea struck 
him to carry the line across the broad At- 
lantic. In 1850 Mr. Field obtained a con- 
cession from the legislature of Newfound- 
land, giving him the sole right for fifty years 
to land submarine cables on the shores of 
that island. In company with Peter Cooper, 
Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts and 
Chandler White, he organized a company 
under the name of the New York, New- 
foundland & London Telegraph Company. 
In two years the line from New York across 
Newfoundland was built. The first cable 
connecting Cape Breton Island with New- 
foundland having been lost in a storm while 
being laid in 1855, another was put down in 
1856. In the latter year Mr. Field went to 
London and organized the Atlantic Tele- 
graph Company, furnishing one-fourth of the 
capital himself. Both governments loaned 
ships to carry out the enterprise. Mr. Field 
accompanied the expeditions of 1857 and 
two in 1858. The first and second cables 
were failures, and the third worked but a 
short time and then ceased. The people of 
both continents became incredulous of the 
feasibility of laying a successful cable under 
so wide an expanse of sea, and the war 
breaking out shortly after, nothing was done 
until 1865-66. Mr. Field, in the former 
year, again made the attempt, and the Great 
Eastern laid some one thousand two hun- 
dred miles when the cable parted and was 
lost. The following year the same vessel 
succeeded in laying the entire cable, and 
picked up the one lost the year before, and 
both were carried to America's shore. After 
thirteen years of care and toil Mr. Field had 
his reward. He was the recipient of many 
medals and honors from both home and 



abroad. He gave his attention after this 
to establishing telegraphic communication 
throughout the world and many other large 
enterprises, notably the construction of ele- 
vated railroads in New York. Mr. Field 
died July 11, 1892. 



G ROVER CLEVELAND, the twenty- 
second president of the United States, 
was born in Caldwell, Essex county, New 
Jersey, March 18, 1837, ^"d was the son 
of Rev. Richard and Annie (Neale) Cleve- 
land. The father, of distinguished New 
England ancestry, was a Presbyterian min- 
ister in charge of the church at Caldwell at 
the time. 

When Grover was about three years of 
age the family removed to Fayetteville, 
Onondaga county. New York, where he 
attended the district school, and was in the 
academy for a short time. His father be- 
lieving that boys should early learn to labor, 
Grover entered a village store and worked 
for the sum of fifty dollars for the first year. 
While he was thus engaged the family re- 
moved to Clinton, New York, and there 
young Cleveland took up h's studies at the 
academy. The death of his father dashed 
all his hopes of a collegiate education, the 
family being left in straightened circum- 
stances, and Grover started out to battle 
for himself. After acting for a year (1853- 
54) as assistant teacher and bookkeeper in 
the Institution for the Blind at New York 
City, he went to Buffalo. A short time 
after he entered the law office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of that city, and after a 
hard struggle with adverse circumstances, 
was admitted to the bar in 1859. He be- 
came confidential and managing clerk for 
the firm under whom he had studied, and 
remained with them until 1863. In the lat- 
ter year he was appointed district attorney 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



175 



of Erie county. It was during his incum- 
bency of this office that, on being nominated 
by the Democrats for supervisor, he came 
within thirteen votes of election, although 
the district was usually Republican by two 
hundred and fifty majority. In i866Grover 
Cleveland formed a partnership with Isaac 
V. Vanderpoel. The most of the work here 
fell upon the shoulders of our subject, and 
he soon won a good standing at the bar of 
the state. In 1869 Mr. Cleveland associated 
himself in business with A. P. Laning and 
Oscar Folsom, and under the firm name of 
Laning, Cleveland & Folsom soon built up a 
fair practice. In the fall of 1 870 Mr. Cleve- 
land was elected sheriff of Erie county, an 
office which he filled for four years, after 
which he resumed his profession, with L. I\. 
Bass and Wilson S. Bissell as partners. 
This firm was strong and popular and 
shortly was in possession of a lucrative 
practice. Mr. Bass retired from the firm 
in 1879, and George J. Secard was admit- 
ted a member in 188 1. In the latter year 
Mr. Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo, 
and in 1882 he was chosen governor by 
the enormous majority of one hundred and 
ninety-two thousand votes. July 11, 1884, 
he was nominated for the presidency by the 
Democratic national convention, and in 
November following was elected. 

Mr. Cleveland, after serving one term as 
president of the United States, in 1888 was 
nominated by his party to succeed himself, 
but he failed of the election, being beaten 
by Benjamin Harrison. In 1892, however, 
being nominated again in opposition to the 
then incumbent of the presidency, Mr. Har- 
rison, Grover Cleveland was elected pres- 
ident for the second time and served for the 
usual term of four years. In 1897 Mr. 
Cleveland retired from the chair of the first 
magistrate of the nation, and in New York 



City resumed the practice of law, in which 
city he had established himself in 1889. 

June 2, 1886, Grover Cleveland was 
united in marriage with Miss Frances Fol- 
som, the daughter of his former partner. 



ALEXANDER WINCHELL, for many 
years one of the greatest of American 
scientists, and one of the most noted and 
prolific writers on scientific subjects, was 
born in Duchess county. New York, Decem- 
ber 31, 1824. He received a thorough col- 
legiate education, and graduated at the 
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connect- 
icut, in 1847. His mind took a scientific 
turn, which manifested itself while he was 
yet a boy, and in 1848 he became teacher 
of natural sciences at the Armenian Semi- 
nary, in his native state, a position which 
he filled for three years. In 185 1-3 he oc- 
cupied the same position in the Mesopo- 
tamia Female Seminary, in Alabama, after 
which he was president of the Masonic Fe- 
male Seminary, in Alabama. In 1853 he 
became connected with the University of 
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, at which institu- 
tion he performed the most important work 
of his life, and gained a wide reputation as 
a scientist. He held many important posi- 
tions, among which were the following: 
Professor of physics and civil engineering at 
the University of Michigan, also of geology, 
zoology and botany, and later professor of 
geology and pala;ontology at the same insti- 
tution. He also, for a time, was president 
of the Michigan Teachers' Association, and 
state geologist of Michigan. Professor 
Winchell was a very prolific writer on scien- 
tific subjects, and published many standard 
works, his most important and widely known 
being those devoted to geology. He also 
contributed a large number of articles to 
scientific and popular journals. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



ANDREW HULL FOOTE, of the 
United States navy, was a native of 
New England, born at New Haven, Con- 
necticut, May 4, 1808. He entered the 
navy, as a midshipman, December 4, 1822. 
He slowly rose in his chosen profession, at- 
taining the rank of lieutenant in 1830, com- 
mander in 1852 and captain in 1861. 
Among the distinguished men in the break- 
ing out of the Civil war, but few stood higher 
in the estimation of his brother officers than 
Foote, and when, in the fall of 1861, he 
was appointed to the command of the flotilla 
then building on the Mississippi, the act 
gave great satisfaction to the service. 
Although embarrassed by want of navy 
yards and supplies, Foote threw himself into 
his new work with unusual energy. He 
overcame all obstacles and in the new, and, 
until that time, untried experiment, of creat- 
ing and maintaining a navy on a river, 
achieved a success beyond the expectations 
of the country. Great incredulity existed as 
to the possibility of carrying on hostilities 
on a river where batteries from the shore 
might bar the passage. But in spite of all, 
Foote soon had a navy on the great river, 
and by the heroic qualities of the crews en- 
trusted to him, demonstrated the utility of 
this new departure in naval architecture. 
All being prepared, February 6, 1862, Foote 
took Fort Henry after a hotly-contested 
action. On the 14th of the same month, 
for an hour and a half engaged the batteries 
of Fort Donelson, with four ironclads and 
two wooden gunboats, thereby dishearten- 
ing the garrison and assisting in its capture. 
April 7th of the same year, after several 
hotly-contested actions. Commodore Foote 
received the surrender of Island No. 10, one 
of the great strongholds of the Confederacy 
on the Mississippi river. Foote having been 
wounded at Fort Donelson, and by neglect 



it having become so serious as to endanger 
his life, he was forced to resign his command 
and return home. June 16, 1862, he re- 
ceived the thanks of congress and was pro- 
moted to the rank of rear admiral. He was 
appointed chief of the bureau of equipment 
and recruiting. June 4, 1863, he was 
ordered to the fleet off Charleston, to super- 
cede Rear Admiral Dupont, but on his way 
to that destination was taken sick at New 
York, and died June 26, 1863. 



NELSON A. MILES, the well-known sol- 
dier, was born at Westminster, Massa- 
chusetts, August 8, 1839. His ancestors set- 
tled in that state in 1643 among the early 
pioneers, and their descendants were, many 
of them, to be found among those battling 
against Great Britain during Revolutionary 
times and during the war of 18 12. Nelson 
was reared on a farm, received an academic 
education, and in early manhood engaged in 
mercantile pursuits in Boston. Early in 

1 86 1 he raised a company and offered his 
services to the government, and although 
commissioned as captain, on account of his 
youth went out as first lieutenant in the 
Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry. In 

1862 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel 
and colonel of the Sixty-first New York In- 
fantry. At the request of Generals Grant 
and Meade he was made a brigadier by 
President Lincoln. He participated in all 
but one of the battles of the Army of the 
Potomac until the close of the war. During 
the latter part of the time he commanded 
the first division of the Second Corps. 
General Miles was wounded at the battles 
of Fair Oaks, Fredericksburg and Chan- 
cellorsville, and received four brevets for 
distinguished service. During the recon- 
struction period he commanded in North 
Carolina, and on the reorganization of the 



COMrEXDIL'M OF BIOGRArHT. 



177 



regular army he was made colonel of in- 
fantry. In 1880 he was promoted to the 
rank of brigadier-general, and in 1890 to 
that of major-general. He successfully con- 
ducted several campaigns among the In- 
dians, and his name is known among the 
tribes as a friend when they are peacefully 
inclined. He many times averted war 
with the red men by judicious and humane 
settlement of difficulties without the military 
power. In 1892 General Miles was given 
command of the proceedings in dedicating 
the World's Fair at Chicago, and m the 
summer of 1894, during the great railroad 
strike at the same city, General Miles, then 
in command of the department, had the 
disposal of the troops sent to protect the 
United States mails. On the retirement of 
General J. M. Schofield, in 1895, General 
Miles became the ranking major-general of 
the United States army and the head of its 
forces. 

JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH, the great 
actor, though born in London (1796), is 
more intimately connected with the Amer- 
ican than with the English stage, and his 
popularity in America was almost un- 
bounded, while in England he was not a 
prime favorite. He presented " Richard III. " 
in Richmond on his first appearance on the 
American stage in 1821. This was his 
greatest role, and in it he has never had an 
equal. In October of the same year he 
appeared in New York. After a long and 
successful career he gave his final perform- 
ance at New Orleans in 1852. He con- 
tracted a severe cold, and for lack of proper 
medical attention, it resulted in his death 
on November 30th of that year. He was, 
without question, one of the greatest tra- 
gedians that ever lived. In addition to his 
professional art and genius, he was skilled 



in languages, drawing, painting and sculp- 
ture. In his private life he was reserved, 
and even eccentric. Strange stories are 
related of his peculiarities, and on his farm 
near Baltimore he forbade the use of animal 
food, the taking of animal life, and even the 
felling of trees, and brought his butter and 
eggs to the Baltimore markets in person. 

Junius Brutus Booth, known as the elder 
Booth, gave to the world three sons of note: 
Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., the husband of 
Agnes Booth, the actress; John Wilkes 
Booth, the author of the greatest tragedy 
in the life of our nation; Edwin Booth, in 
his day the greatest actor of America, if not 
of the world. 

JAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY, fa- 
mous as the "Danbury News Man," 
was one of the best known American humor- 
ists, and was born September 25, 1841, at 
Albany, N. Y. He adopted journalism as a 
profession and started in his chosen work on 
the "Danbury Times," which paper he pur- 
chased on his return from the war. Mr. 
Bailey also purchased the "JeSersonian," 
another paper of Danbury, and consolidated 
them, forming the "Danbury News," which 
paper soon acquired a celebrity throughout 
the United States, from an incessant flow of 
rich, healthy, and original humor, which the 
pen of the editor imparted to its columns, 
and he succeeded in raising the circulation 
of the paper from a few hundred copies a 
week to over forty thousand. The facilities 
of a country printing office were not so com- 
plete in those days as they are now, but Mr. 
Bailey was resourceful, and he put on re- 
lays of help and ran his presses night and 
day, and always prepared his matter a week 
ahead of time. The "Danbury News Man" 
was a new figure in literature, as his humor 
was so different from that of the newspaper 



178 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



wits — who had preceded him, and he maybe 
called the pioneer of that school now so 
familiar. Mr. Bailey published in book 
form "Life in Danbury" and "The Danbury 
News Man's Almanac." One of his most 
admirable traits was philanthrophy, as he 
gave with unstinted generosity to all comers, 
and died comparatively poor, notwithstand- 
ing his ownership of a very profitable busi- 
ness which netted him an income of $40,000 
a year. He died March 4, 1894. 



MATTHEW HALE CARPENTER, a 
famous lawyer, orator and senator, 
was born in Moretown, Vermont, December 
22, 1824. After receiving a common-school 
education he entered the United States 
Military Academy at West Point, but only 
remained two years. On returning to his 
home he commenced the study of law with 
Paul Dillingham, afterwards governor of 
Vermont, and whose daughter he married. 
In 1847 he was admitted to practice at the 
bar in Vermont, but he went to Boston and 
for a time studied with Ruf us Choate. In 1 848 
he moved west, settling at Beloit, Wisconsin, 
and commencing the practice of his profes- 
sion soon obtained a wide reputation for 
abihty. In 1856 Mr. Carpenter removed to 
Milwaukee, where he found a wider field for 
his now increasing powers. During the 
Civil war, although a strong Democrat, he 
was loyal to the government and aided the 
Union cause to his utmost. In 1S68 he 
was counsel for the government in a test 
case to settle the legality of the reconstruc- 
tion act before the United States supreme 
court, and won his case against Jeremiah S. 
Black. This gave him the election for sen- 
ator from Wisconsin in 1869, and he served 
until 1875, during part of which time he was 
president pro tempore of the senate. Failing 
of a re-election Mr. Carpenter resumed the 



practice of law, and when William W. 
Belknap, late secretary of war, was im- 
peached, entered the case for General 
Belknap, and secured an acquittal. During 
the sitting of the electoral commission of 
1877, Mr. Carpenter appeared for Samuel 
J. Tilden, although the Republican man- 
agers had intended to have him represent 
R. B. Hayes. Mr. Carpenter was elected 
to the United States senate again in 1879, 
and remained a member of that body until 
the day of his death, which occurred at 
Washington, District of Columbia, Feb- 
ruary 24, iSSi. 

Senator Carpenter's real name was De- 
catur Merritt Hammond Carpenter but about 
1852 he changed it to the one by which he 
was universally known. 



THOMAS E. WATSON, lawyer and 
congressman, the well-known Geor- 
gian, whose name appears at the head of 
this sketch, made himself a place in the his- 
tory of our country by his ability, energy 
and fervid oratory. He was born in Col- 
umbia (now McDuffie) county, Georgia, 
September 5, 1856. He had a common- 
school education, and in 1872 entered Mer- 
cer University, at Macon, Georgia, as fresh- 
man, but for want of. money left the college 
at the end of his sophomore year. He 
taught school, studying law at the same 
time, until 1875, when he was admitted to 
the bar. He opened an office and com- 
menced practice in Thomson, Georgia, in 
November, 1876. He carried on a success- 
ful business, and bought land and farmed on 
an extensive scale. 

Mr. Watson was a delegate to the Demo- 
cratic state convention of 1880, and was a 
member of the house of representatives of 
the legislature of his native state in 1S82. 
In 1888 he was an elector-at-Iarge on the 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



179 



Cleveland ticket, and in 1890 was elected 
to represent his district in the fifty-second 
congress. This latter election is said to have 
been due entirely to Mr. Watson's "dash- 
ing display of ability, eloquence and popular 
power." In his later years he championed 
the alliance principles and policies until he 
became a leader in the movement. In the 
heated campaign of 1896, Mr. Watson was 
nominated as the candidate for vice-presi- 
dent on the Bryan ticket by that part of the 
People's party that would not endorse the 
nominee for the same position made by the 
Democratic party. 



FREDERICK A. P. BARNARD, mathe- 
matician, physicist and educator, was 
born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, May 5, 1809. 
He graduated from Yale College in 1828, and 
in 1830 became a tutor in the same. From 
1837 to 1848 he was professor of mathe- 
matics and natural philosophy in the Uni- 
versity of Alabama, and from 1848 to 1850, 
professor of chemistry and natural history 
in the same educational institution. In 
1854 he became connected with the Univer- 
sity of Mississippi, of which he became 
president in 1856, and chancellor in 1858. 
In 1854 he took orders in the Protestant 
Episcopal church. In 1861 Professor Barnard 
resigned his chancellorship and chair in the 
university, and in 1863 and 1864 was con- 
nected with the United States coast survey 
in charge of chart printing and lithography. 
In May, 1864, he was elected president of 
Columbia College, New York City, which 
he served for a number of years. 

Professor Barnard received the honorary 
degree of LL. D. from Jefferson College, 
Mississippi, in 1855, and from Yale College 
in 1859; also the degree of S. T. D. from 
the University of Mississippi in 1861, and 
that of L. H. D. from the regents of the 



University of the State of New York in 1872. 
In i860 he was a member of the eclipse 
party sent by the United States coast sur- 
vey to Labrador, and during his absence 
was elected president of the American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science. In 
the act of congress establishing the National 
Academy of Sciences in 1S63, he was named 
as one of the original corporators. In 1867 
he was one of the United States commis- 
sioners to the Paris Exposition. He was 
a member of the American Philosophical 
Society, associate member of the Amer- 
ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 
many other philosophical and scientific 
societies at home and abroad. Dr. Barnard 
was thoroughly identified with the progress 
of the age in those branches. His published 
works relate wholly to scientific or educa- 
tional subjects, chief among which are the 
following: Report on Collegiate Education; 
Art Culture; History of the American Coast 
Survey; University Education; Undulatory 
Theory of Light; Machinery and Processes 
of the Industrial Arts, and Apparatus of the 
E.xact Sciences, Metric System of Weights 
and Measures, etc. 

EDWIN McMASTERS STANTON, the 
secretary of war during the great Civil 
war, was recognized as one of America's 
foremost public men. He was born Decem- 
ber 19, 1 8 14, at Steubenville, Ohio, where 
he received his education and studied law. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1836, and 
was reporter of the supreme court of Ohio 
from 1842 until 1845. He removed to 
Washington in 1856 to attend to his prac- 
tice before the United States supreme 
court, and in 1858 he went to California as 
counsel for the government in certain land 
cases, which he carried to a successful 
conclusion. Mr. Stanton was appointed 



180 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



attorney-general of the United States in 
December, i860, by President Buchanan. 
On March 4, 1861, Mr. Stanton went with 
the outgoing administration and returned to 
the practice of his profession. He was 
appointed secretary of war by President 
Lincoln January 20, 1862, to succeed Simon 
Cameron. After the assassination of Presi- 
dent Lincoln and the accession of Johnson 
to the presidency, Mr. Stanton was still in 
the same office. He held it for three years, 
and by his strict adherence to the Repub- 
lican party, he antagonized President John- 
son, who endeavored to remove him. On 
August 5, 1867, the president requested him 
to resign, and appointed General Grant to 
succeed him, but when congress convened 
in December the senate refused to concur in 
the suspension. Mr. Stanton returned to 
his post until the president again removed 
him from office, but was again foiled by 
congress. Soon after, however, he retired 
voluntarily from office and took up the 
practice of law, in which he engaged until 
his death, on December 24, 1869. 



ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, the eminent 
theologian and founder of the church 
known as Disciples of Christ, was born in 
the country of Antrim, Ireland, in June, 
1788, and was the son of Rev. Thomas 
Campbell, a Scoth-Irish "Seceder. " After 
studying at the University of Glasgow, he, 
in company with his father, came to America 
in 1808, and both began labor in western 
Pennsylvania to restore Christianity to 
apostolic simplicity. They organized a 
church at Brush Run, Washington county, 
Pennsylvania, in 181 1, which, however, the 
year following, adopted Baptist views, and 
in 1 81 3, with other congregations joined a 
Baptist association. Some of the under- 
lying principles and many practices of the 



Campbells and their disciples were repug- 
nant to the Baptist church and considerable 
friction was the result, and 1827 saw the 
separation of that church from the Church 
of Christ, as it is sometimes called. The 
latter then reorganized themselves anew. 
They reject all creeds, professing to receive 
the Bible as their only guide. In most mat- 
ters of faith they are essentially in accord with 
the other Evangelical Christian churches, 
especially in regard to the person and work 
of Christ, the resurrection and judgment. 
They celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, 
hold that repentance and faith should precede 
baptism, attaching much importance to the 
latter ordinance. On all other points they 
encourage individual liberty of thought. In 
1841, Alexander Campbell founded Bethany 
College, West Virginia, of which he was 
president for many years, and died March 4, 
1866. 

The denomination which they founded 
is quite a large .and important church body 
in the United States. They support quite 
a number of institutions of learning, among 
which are: Bethany College, West Virginia; 
Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio; Northwestern 
Christian University, Indianapolis, Indiana; 
Eureka College, Illinois; Kentucky Univer- 
sity, Lexington, Kentucky; Oskaloosa 
College, Iowa; and a number of seminaries 
and schools. They also support several 
monthly and quarterly religious periodicals 
and many papers, both in the United States 
and Great Britain and her dependencies. 



WILLIAM L.WILSON, the noted West 
Virginian, who was postmaster-gener- 
al under President Cleveland's second ad- 
ministration, won distinction as the father 
of the famous " Wilson bill," which became 
a law under the same administration. Mr. 
Wilson was born May 3, 1843, in Jeffer- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



181 



son county, West Virginia, and received 
a good education at the Charlestown 
Academy, where he prepared himself for 
college. He attended the Columbian Col- 
lege in the District of Columbia, from 
which he graduated in i86o, and then 
attended the University of Virginia. Mr. 
Wilson served in the Confederate army dur- 
ing the war, after which he was a professor 
in Columbian College. Later he entered 
into the practice of law at Charlestown. 
He attended the Democratic convention 
held at Cincinnati in i8So, as a delegate, 
and later was chosen as one of the electors 
for the state-at-Iarge on the Hancock 
ticket. In the Democratic convention at 
Chicago in 1892, Mr. Wilson was its per- 
manent president. He was elected pres- 
ident of the West Virginia University in 
1882, entering upon the duties of his ofBce 
on September 6, but having received the 
nomination for the forty-seventh congress 
on the Democratic ticket, he resigned the 
presidency of the university in June, 1883, 
to take his seat in congress. Mr. Wil- 
son was honored by the Columbian Uni- 
versity and the Hampden-Sidney College, 
both of which conferred upon him the de- 
gree of LL. D. In 1884 he was appointed 
regent of the Smithsonian Institution at 
Washington for two years, and at the end 
of his term was re-appointed. He was 
elected to the forty-seventh, forty-ninth, 
fiftieth, lifty-first, fifty-second and fifty- 
third congresses, but was defeated for re- 
election to the fifty-fourth congress. Upon 
the resignation of Mr. Bissell from the office 
of postmaster-general, Mr. Wilson was ap- 
pointed to fill the vacancy by President 
Cleveland. His many years of public serv- 
ice and the prominent part he took in the 
discussion of public questions gave him a 
national reputation. 



CALVIN S. BRICE, a successful and 
noted financier and politician, was 
born at Denmark, Ohio, September 17, 
1845, of an old Maryland family, who trace 
their lineage from the Bryces, or Bruces, of 
Airth, Scotland. The father of our subject 
was a prominent Presbyterian clergyman, 
who removed to Ohio in 1812. Calvin S. 
Brice was educated in the common schools 
of his native town, and at the age of thir- 
teen entered the preparatory department of 
Miami University at O.xford, Ohio, and the 
following year entered the freshman class. 
On the breaking out of the Civil war, 
although but fifteen years old, he enlisted in 
a company of three-months men. He re- 
turned to complete his college course, but 
re-enlisted in Company A, Eighty-si.xth 
Ohio Infantry, and served in the Virginia 
campaign. He then returned to college, 
from which he graduated in 1863. In 1864 
he organized Company E, One Hundred 
and Eightieth Ohio Infantry, and served 
until the close of hostilities, in the western 
armies. 

On his return home Mr. Brice entered 
the law department of the University of 
Michigan, and in 1866 was admitted to the 
bar in Cincinnati. In the winter of 1870- 
71 he went to Europe in the interests of the 
Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad and pro- 
cured a foreign loan. This road became 
the Lake Erie & Western, of which, in 
1887, Mr. Brice became president. This 
was the first railroad in which he had a 
personal interest. The conception, build- 
ing and sale of the New York, Chicago & 
St. Louis Railroad, known as the "Nickel 
Plate," was largely due to him. He was 
connected with many other railroads, among 
which may be mentioned the following: 
Chicago & Atlantic; Ohio Central; Rich- 
mond & Danville; Richmond & West Point 



182 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



Terminal; East Tennessee, Virginia & 
Georgia; Memphis & Cliarleston; Mobile & 
Birmingham; Kentucky Central; Duluth, 
South Shore & Atlantic, and the Marquette, 
Houghton & Ontonagon. In 1890 he was 
elected United States senator from Ohio. 
Notwithstanding his e.xtensive business inter- 
ests, Senator Brice gave a considerable 
time to political matters, becoming one of 
the leaders of the Democratic party and one 
of the most widely known men in the 
country. 

BENJAMIN HARRISON, twenty-third 
president of the United States, was 
born August 20, 1833, at North Bend, 
Hamilton county, Ohio, in the house of his 
grandfather, General William Henry Har- 
rison, afterwards president of the United 
States. His great-grandfather, Benjamin 
Harrison, was a member of the Continental 
congress, signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and was three times elected gov- 
ernor of Virginia. 

The subject of this sketch entered Farm- 
ers College at an early age, and two years 
later entered Miami University, at Oxford, 
Ohio. Upon graduation he entered the 
office of Stover & Gwyne, of Cincinnati, as a 
law student. He was admitted to the bar 
two years later, and having inherited about 
eight hundred dollars worth of property, he 
married the daughter of Doctor Scott, pres- 
ident of a female school at Oxford, Ohio, 
and selected Indianapolis, Indiana, to begin 
practice. In i860 he was nominated by 
the Republicans as candidate for state 
supreme court reporter, and did his first 
political speaking in that campaign. He 
was elected, and after two years in that 
position he organized the Seventieth Indi- 
ana Infantry, of which he was made colonel, 
and with his regiment joined General Sher- 



man's army. For bravery displayed at Re- 
saca and Peach Tree Creek he was made a 
brigadier-general. In the meantime the 
office of supreme court reporter had been 
declared vacant, and another party elected 
to fill it. In the fall of 1864, having been 
nominated for that office. General Harrison 
obtained a thirty-day leave of absence, went 
to Indiana, canvassed the state and was 
elected. As he was about to rejoin his 
command he was stricken down by an attack 
of fever. After his recovery he joined 
General Sherman's army and participated in 
the closing events of the war. 

In 1868 General Harrison declined to 
be a candidate for the office of supreme 
court reporter, and returned to the practice 
of the law. His brilliant campaign for the 
office of governor of Indiana in 1876, 
brought him into public notice, although he 
was defeated. He took a prominent part 
in the presidential canvass of 1880, and was 
chosen United States senator from Indiana, 
serving six years. He then returned to the 
practice of his profession. In 1888 he was 
selected by the Republican convention at 
Chicago as candidate for the presidency, and 
after a heated campaign was elected over 
Cleveland. He was inaugurated March 4, 
1889, and signed the McKinley bill October 
I, 1890, perhaps the most distinctive feature 
of his administration. In 1892 he was 
again the nominee of the Republican party 
for president, but was defeated by Grover 
Cleveland, the Democratic candidate, and 
again resumed the practice of law in Indian- 
apolis. 

JOHN CRAIG HAVEMEYER, the 
celebrated merchant and sugar refiner, 
was born in New York City in 1833. His 
father, William F. Havemeyer, and grand- 
father, William Havemeyer, were both sugar 



COMPEXDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



refiners. The latter named came from 
Buckeburg, Germany, in 1799, and settled 
in New York, establishing one of the first 
refineries in that city. William F. succeeded 
his father, and at an early age retired from 
business with a competency. He was three 
times mayor of his native city, New York. 
John C. Havemeyer was educated in 
private schools, and was prepared for college 
at Columbia College grammar school. 
Owing to failing eyesight he was unable to 
finish his college course, and began his 
business career in a wholesale grocery store, 
where he remained two years. In 1854, 
after a year's travel abroad, he assumed the 
responsibility of the office work in the sugar 
refinery of Havemeyer & Molter, but two 
years later etablished a refinery of his own 
in Brooklyn. This afterwards developed into 
the immense business of Havemeyer & Elder. 
The capital was furnished by his father, 
and, chafing under the anxiety caused by the 
use of borrowed money, he sold out his 
interest and returned to Havemeyer & 
Molter. This firm dissolving the ne.xtyear, 
John C. declined an offer of partnership 
from the successors, not wishing to use 
borrowed money. For two years he remain- 
ed with the house, receiving a share of the 
profits as compensation. For some years 
thereafter he was engaged in the commission 
business, until failing health caused his 
retirement. In 1871, he again engaged in 
the sugar refining business at Greenport, 
Long Island, with his brother and another 
partner, under the firm name of Havemeyer 
Brothers & Co. Here he remained until 
1880, when his health again declined. 
During the greater part of his life Mr. 
Havemeyer was identified with many benev- 
olent societies, including the New York 
Port Society, Missionary Society of the 
Methodist Church, American Bible Society, 



New York Sabbath School Society and 
others. He was active in Young Men's 
Christian Association work in New York, 
and organized and was the first president of 
an affiliated society of the same at Yonkers. 
He was director of several railroad corpo- 
rations and a trustee of the Continental Trust 
Company of New York. 



WALTER QUINTIN GRESHAM, an 
eminent American statesman and 
jurist, was born March 17, 1833, near Cory- 
don, Harrison county, Indiana. He ac- 
quired his education m the local schools of 
the county and at Bloomington Academy, 
akhough he did not graduate. After leav- 
ing college he read law with Judge Porter 
at Corydon, and just before the war he be- 
gan to take an interest in politics. Mr. 
Gresham was elected to the legislature from 
Harrison county as a Republican; previous 
to this the district had been represented by 
a Democrat. At the commencement of 
hostilities he was made lieutenant-colonel of 
the Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, but 
served in that regiment only a short time, 
when he was appointed colonel of the Fifty- 
third Indiana, and served under General 
Grant at the siege of Vicksburg as brigadier- 
general. Later he was under Sherman in 
the famous "March to the Sea," and com- 
manded a division of Blair's corps at the 
siege of Atlanta where he was so badly 
wounded in the leg that he was compelled 
to return home. On his way home he was 
forced to stop at New Albany, where he re- 
mained a year before he was able to leave. 
He was brevetted major-general at the close 
of the war. While at New Albany, Mr. 
Gresham was appointed state agent, his 
duty being to pay the interest on the state 
debt in New York, and he ran twice for 
congress against ex-Speaker Kerr, but was 



184 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



defeated in both cases, although he greatly 
reduced the Democratic majority. He was 
held in high esteem by President Grant, 
who offered him the portfolio of the interior 
but Mr. Gresham declined, but accepted 
the appointment of United States judge for 
Indiana to succeed David McDonald. 
Judge Gresham served on the United States 
district court bench until 1883, when he 
was appointed postmaster-general by Presi- 
dent Arthur, but held that office only a few 
months when he was made secretary of the 
treasury. Near the end of President 
Arthur's term. Judge Gresham was ap- 
pointed judge of the United States circuit 
court of the district composed of Indiana, 
Illinois and contiguous states, which he held 
until 1893. Judge Gresham was one of the 
presidential possibilities in the National Re- 
publican convention in 1888, when General 
Harrison was nominated, and was also men- 
tioned for president in 1892. Later the 
People's party made a strenuous effort to 
induce him to become their candidate for 
president, he refusing the offer, however, 
and a few weeks before the election he an- 
nounced that he would support Mr. Cleve- 
land, the Democratic nominee for president. 
Upon the election of Mr. Cleveland in the 
fall of 1892, Judge Gresham was made the 
secretary of state, and filled that position 
until his death on May 28, 1895, at Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia. 



ELISHA B. ANDREWS, noted as an ed- 
ucator and college president, was born 
at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, January 10, 
1844, his father and mother being Erastus 
and Elmira (Bartlett) Andrews. In 1861, 
he entered the service of the general gov- 
ernment as private and non-commissioned 
officer in the First Connecticut Heavy Ar- 
tillery, and in 1863 was promoted to the 



rank of second lieutenant. Returning home 
he was prepared for college at Powers In- 
stitute and at the Wesleyan Academy, and 
entered Brown University. From here he 
was graduated in 1870. For the succeeding 
two years he was principal of the Connecti- 
cut Literary Institute at Suffield, Connecticut. 
Completing a course at the Newton Theo- 
logical Institute, he was ordained pastor of 
the First Baptist church at Beverly, Massa- 
chusetts, July 2, 1874. The following 
year he became president of the Denison 
University, at Granville, Ohio. In 1879 
he accepted the professorship of homiletics, 
pastoral duties and church polity at Newton 
Theological Institute. In 1882 he was 
elected to the chair of history and political 
economy at Brown University. The Uni- 
versity of Nebraska honored him with an 
LL. D. in 1884, and the same year Colby 
University conferred the degree of D. D. 
In 1888 he became professor of political 
economy and public economy at Cornell 
University, but the next year returned to 
Brown University as its president. From 
the time of his inauguration the college work 
broadened in many ways. Many timely 
and generous donations from friends and 
alumni of the college were influenced by 
him, and large additions made 'to the same. 
Professor Andrews published, in 1887, 
"Institutes of General History," and in 
1888, " Institutes of Economics." 



JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER, the subject 
of the present biography, was, during his 
life, one of the most distinguished chemists 
and scientific writers in America. He was 
an Englishman by birth, born at Liverpool, 
May 5, 1 8 II, and was reared in his native 
land, receiving an excellent education, 
graduating at the University of London. In 
1833 he came to the United States, and 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



187 



settled first in Pennsylvania. He graduated 
in medicine at the University of Philadel- 
phia, in 1836, and for three years following 
was professor of chemistry and physiology 
at Hampden-Sidney College. He then be- 
came professor of chemistry in the New York 
University, with which institution he was 
prominently connected for many years. It 
is stated on excellent authority that Pro- 
fessor Draper, in 1839, took the first photo- 
graphic picture ever taken from life. He 
was a great student, and carried on many 
important and intricate experiments along 
scientific lines. He discovered many of the 
fundamental facts of spectrum analysis, 
which he published. He published a number 
of works of great merit, many of which are 
recognized as authority upon the subjects of 
which they treat. Among his work were: 
"Human Physiology, Statistical and Dyna- 
mical of the Conditions and Cause of Life 
in Man," "History of Intellectual Develop- 
ment of Europe," " History of the Ameri- 
can Civil War," besides a number of works 
on chemistry, optics and mathematics. Pro- 
fessor Draper continued to hold a high place 
among the scientific scholars of America 
until his death, which occurred in January, 
1882. 

GEORGE W. PECK, ex-governor of 
the state of Wisconsin and a famous 
journalist and humorist, was born in Jeffer- 
son county, New York, September 28, 1840. 
When he was about three years of age his 
parents removed to Wisconsin, settling near 
Whitewater, where young Peck received his 
education at the public schools. At fifteen 
he entered the office of the "Whitewater 
Register," where he learned the printer's 
art. He helped start the "Jefferson County 
Republican" later on, but sold out his 
interest therein and set type in the office of 



the "State Journal," at Madison. At the 
outbreak of the war he enlisted in the 
Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry as a private, and 
after serving four years returned a second 
lieutenant. He then started the " Ripon 
Representative," which he sold not long 
after, and removing to New York, was on 
the staff of Mark Pomeroy's "Democrat." 
Going to La Crosse, later, he conducted the 
La Crosse branch paper, a half interest in 
which he bought in 1874. He next started 
"Peck's Sun," which four years later he 
removed to Milwaukee. While in La 
Crosse he was chief of police one year, and 
also chief clerk of the Democratic assembly 
in 1874. It was in 1878 that Mr. Peck 
took his paper to Milwaukee, and achieved 
his first permanent success, the circulation 
increasing to 80,000. For ten years he was 
regarded as one of the most original, versa- 
tile and entertaining writers in the country, 
and he has delineated every phase of 
country newspaper life, army life, domestic 
experience, travel and city adventure. Up 
to 1890 Mr. Peck took but little part in 
politics, but in that year was elected mayor 
of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket. 
The following August he was elected gov- 
ernor of Wisconsin by a large majority, 
the "Bennett School Bill" figuring to a 
large extent in his favor. 

Mr. Peck, besides many newspaper arti- 
cles in his peculiar vein and numerous lect- 
ures, bubbling over with fun. is known to 
fame by the following books: "Peck's Bad 
Boy and his Pa," and "The Grocery Man 
and Peck's Bad Boy." 



CHARLES O'CONOR, who was for 
many years the acknowledged leader 
of the legal profession of New York City, 
was also conceded to be one of the greatest 
lawyers America has produced. He was 



188 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



born in New York City in 1804, his father 
being an educated Irish gentleman. Charles 
received a common-school education, and 
early took up the study of law, being ad- 
mitted to practice in 1824. His close ap- 
plication and untiring energy and industry 
soon placed him in the front rank of the 
profession, and within a few years he was 
handling many of the most important cases. 
One of the first great cases he had and which 
gained him a wide reputation, was that of 
"Jack, the Fugitive Slave," in 1835, in which 
his masterful argument before the supreme 
court attracted wide attention and com- 
ment. Charles O'Conor was a Democrat 
all his life. He did not aspire to office- 
holding, however, and never held any office 
except that of district attorney under Presi- 
dent Pierce's administration, which he only 
retained a short time. He took an active 
interest, however, in public questions, and 
was a member of the state (New York) con- 
stitutional convention in 1864. In 1868 he 
was nominated for the presidency by the 
" Extreme Democrats. " His death occurred 
in May, 1884. 

SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, a noted 
American officer and major-general in 
the Confederate army, was born in Ken- 
tucky in 1823. He graduated from West 
Point Military Academy in 1844, served in 
the United States infantry and was later as- 
signed to commissary duty with the rank of 
captain. He served several years at fron- 
tier posts, and was assistant professor in the 
military academy in 1846. He was with 
General Scott in the Mexican war, and en- 
gaged in all the battles from Vera Cruz to 
the capture of the Mexican capital. He 
was wounded at Cherubusco and brevetted 
first lieutenant, and at Molino del Rey was 
brevetted captain. After the close of the 



Mexican war he returned to West Point as 
assistant instructor, and was then assigned 
to commissary duty at New York. He re- 
signed in 1855 and became superintendent 
of construction of the Chicago custom house. 
He was made adjutant-general, with the 
rank of colonel, of Illinois militia, and was 
colonel of Illinois volunteers raised for the 
Utah expedition, but was not mustered into 
service. In i860 he removed to Kentucky, 
where he settled on a farm near Louisville 
and became inspector-general in command 
of the Kentuck}' Home Guards. At the 
opening of the Civil war he joined the Con- 
federate army, and was given command at 
Bowling Green, Kentucky, which he was 
compelled to abandon after the capture of 
Fort Henry. He then retired to Fort Don- 
elson, and was there captured with sixteen 
thousand men, and an immense store of pro- 
visions, by General Grant, in February, 
1862. He was held as a prisoner of war 
at Fort Warren until August of that year. 
He commanded a division of Hardee's corps 
in Bragg's Army of the Tennessee, and was 
afterward assigned to the third division and 
participated in the battles of Chickamauga, 
and Murfreesboro. He was with Kirby 
Smith when that general surrendered his 
army to General Canby in May, 1865. He 
was an unsuccessful candidate for the vice- 
presidency on the Gold Democratic ticket 
with Senator John M. Palmer in 1896. 



SIMON KENTON, one of the famous pio- 
neers and scouts whose names fill the 
pages of the early history of our country, 
was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, 
April 3, 1755. In consequence of an affray, 
at the age of eighteen, young Kenton went 
to Kentucky, then the "Dark and Bloody 
Ground," and became associated with Dan- 
iel Boone and other pioneers of that region. 



COMPEXDILM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



189 



For a short time he acted as a scout and 
spy for Lord Dunmore, the British governor 
of Virginia, but afterward taking the side 
of the struggling colonists, participated in 
the war for independence west of the Alle- 
ghanies. In 1784 he returned to Virginia, 
but did not remain there long, going back 
with his family to Kentucky. From 
that time until 1793 he participated in all 
the combats and battles of that time, and 
until "Mad Anthony" Wayne swept the 
Valley of the Ohio, and settled the suprem- 
acy of the whites in that region. Kenton 
laid claim to large tracts of land in the new 
country he had helped to open up, but 
through ignorance of law, and the growing 
value of the land, lost it all and was reduced 
to poverty. During the war with England 
in 1812-15. Kenton took part in the inva- 
sion of Canada with the Kentucky troops 
and participated in the battle of the Thames. 
He finally had land granted him by the 
legislature of Kentucky, and received a pen- 
sion from the United States government. 
He died in Logan county, Ohio, April 29, 
1836. 

ELIHU BENJAMIN WASHBURNE, an 
American statesman of eminence, was 
born in Livermore, Maine, September 23, 
1 816. He learned the trade of printer, but 
abandoned that calling at the age of eight- 
een and entered the Kent's Hill Academy at 
Reading, Maine, and then took up the study 
of law, reading in Hallowell, Boston, and at 
the Harvard Law School. He began prac- 
tice at Galena, Illinois, in 1840. He was 
elected to congress in 1852, and represented 
his district in that body continuously until 
March, 1869. and at the time of his retire- 
ment he had served a greater number of 
consecutive terms. than any other member 
of the house. In 1873 President Grant ap- 



pointed him secretary of state, which posi- 
tion he resigned to accept that of minister 
to France. During the Franco-Prussian 
war, including the siege of Paris and the 
reign of the Commune, Mr. Washburne re- 
mained at his post, protecting the lives and 
property of his countrymen, as well as that 
of other foreign residents in Paris, while the 
ministers of all other powers abandoned 
their posts at a time when they were most 
needed. As far as possible he extended 
protection to unfortunate German residents, 
who were the particular objects of hatred of 
the populace, and his firmness and the suc- 
cess which attended his efforts won the ad- 
miration of all Europe. Mr. Washburne 
died at Chicago, Illinois, October 22, 1887. 



WILLIAM CRAMP, one of the most 
extensive shipbuilders of this coun- 
try, was born in Kensington, then a suburb, 
now a part of Philadelphia, in 1806. He 
received a thorough English education, and 
when he left school was associated with 
Samuel Grice, one of the most eminent 
naval architects of his day. In 1830, hav- 
ing mastered all the details of shipbuilding, 
Mr. Cramp engaged in business on his own 
account. By reason of ability and excel- 
lent work he prospered from the start, until 
now, in the hands of his sons, under the 
name of William Cramp & Sons' Ship and 
Engine Building Company, it has become the 
most complete shipbuilding plant and naval 
arsenal in the western hemisphere, and fully 
equal to any in the world. As Mr. Cramp's 
sons attained manhood they learned their 
father's profession, and were admitted to a 
partnership. In 1872 the firm was incor- 
porated under the title given above. Until 
i860 wood was used in building vessels, al- 
though pace was kept with all advances in 
the art of shipbuilding. At the opening of 



190 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



the war came an unexpected demand for 
war vessels, which they promptly met. The 
sea-going ironclad "New Ironsides" was 
built by them in 1862, followed by a num- 
ber of formidable ironclads and the cruiser 
"Chattanooga." They subsequently built 
several war vessels for the Russian and 
other governments which added to their 
reputation. When the American steamship 
line was established in 1870, the Cramps 
were commissioned to build for it four first- 
class iron steamships, the "Pennsylvania," 
"Ohio," "Indiana" and "Illinois," which 
they turned out in rapid order, some of the 
finest specimens of the naval architecture of 
their day. William Cramp remained at the 
head of the great company he had founded 
until his death, which occurred January 6, 
1879. 

Charles H. Cramp, the successor of his 
father as head of the William Cramp & 
Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company, 
was born in Philadelphia May 9, 1829, and 
received an excellent education in his native 
city, which he sedulously sought to sup- 
plement by close study until he became 
an authority on general subjects and the 
best naval architect on the western hemis- 
phere. Many of the best vessels of our 
new navy were built by this immense con- 
cern. 

WASHINGTON ALLSTON, probably 
the greatest American painter, was 
born in South Carolina in 1779. He was 
sent to school at the age of seven years at 
Newport, Rhode Island, where he met Ed- 
ward Malbone, two years his senior, and 
who later became a pamter of note. The 
friendship that sprang up between them un- 
doubtedly influenced young Allston in the 
choice of a profession. He graduated from 
Harvard in 1800, and went to England the 



following year, after pursuing his studies for 
a year under his friend Malbone at his home 
in South Carolina. He became a student 
at the Royal Academy where the great 
American, Benjamin West, presided, and 
who became his intimate friend. Allston 
later went to Paris, and then to Italy, where 
four years were spent, mostly at Rome. In 
1S09 he returned to America, but soon after 
returned to London, having married in the 
meantime a sister of Dr. Channing. In 
a short time his first great work appeared, 
"The Dead Man Restored to Life by the 
Bones of Elisha," which took the British 
Association prize and firmly established his 
reputation. Other paintings followed in 
quick succession, the greatest among which 
were "Uriel in the Center of the Sun," 
"Saint Peter Liberated by the Angel," and 
"Jacob's Dream," supplemented by many 
smaller pieces. Hard work, and grief at the 
death of his wife began to tell upon his health, 
and he left London in 18 18 for America. 
The same year he was elected an associate 
of the Royal Academy. During the ne.xt 
few years he painted "Jeremiah," "Witch 
ofEndor," and "Beatrice." In 1830 Alls- 
ton married a daughter of Judge Dana, and 
went to Cambridge, which was his home 
until his death. Here he produced the 
"Vision of the Bloody Hand," "Rosalie," 
and many less noted pieces, and had given 
one week of labor to his unfinished master- 
piece, "Belshazzar's Feast," when death 
ended his career July 9, 1843. 



JOHN ROACH, ship builder and manu- 
facturer, whose career was a marvel of 
industrial labor, and who impressed his in- 
dividuality and genius upon the times in 
which he lived more, perhaps, than any 
other manufacturer in America. He was 
born at Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ire- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



191 



land, December 25, 181 5, the son of a 
wealthy merchant. He attended school 
until he was thirteen, when his father be- 
came financially embarrassed and failed 
and shortly after died; John determined to 
come to America and carve out a fortune 
for himself. He landed in New York at the 
age of si.xteen, and soon obtained employ- 
ment at the Howell Iron Works in New Jer- 
sey, at twenty-five cents a day. He soon 
made himself a place in the world, and at 
the end of three years had saved some 
twelve hundred dollars, which he lost by 
the failure of his employer, in whose hands 
it was left. Returning to New York he 
began to learn how to make castings for 
marine engines and ship work. Having 
again accumulated one thousand dollars, in 
company with three fellow workmen, he 
purchased a small foundry in New York, 
but soon became sole proprietor. At the 
end of four years he had saved thirty thou- 
sand dollars, besides enlarging his works. 
In 1856 his works were destroyed by a 
boiler explosion, and being unable to collect 
the insurance, was left, after paying his 
debts, without a dollar. However, his 
credit and reputation for integrity was good, 
and he built the Etna Iron Works, giving it 
capacity to construct larger marine engines 
than any previously built in this country. 
Here he turned out immense engines for 
the steam ram Dunderberg, for the war ves- 
sels Winooski and Neshaning, and other 
large vessels. To accommodate his increas- 
ing business, Mr. Roach, in 1869, pur- 
chased the Morgan Iron Works, one of the 
largest in New York, and shortly after sev- 
eral others. In 1871 he bought the Ches- 
ter ship yards, which he added to largely, 
erecting a rolling mill and blast furnace, and 
providing every facility for building a ship 
oat of the ore and timber. This immense 



plant covered a large area, was valued at 
several millions of dollars, and was known 
as the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding 
and Engine Works, of which Mr. Roach 
was the principal owner. He built a large 
percentage of the iron vessels now flying 
the American flag, the bulk of his business 
being for private parties. In 1875 he built 
the sectional dry docks at Pensacola. He, 
about this time, drew the attention of the 
government to the use of compound marine 
engines, and thus was the means of im- 
proving the speed and economy of the ves- 
sels of our new navy. In 1S83 Mr. Roach 
commenced work on the three cruisers for 
the government, the "Chicago," "Boston" 
and "Atlanta," and the dispatch boat 
" Dolphin." For some cause the secretary 
of the navy refused to receive the latter and 
decided that Mr. Roach's contract would 
not hold. This embarrassed Mr. Roach, 
as a large amount of his capital was in- 
volved in these contracts, and for the pro- 
tection of bondsmen and creditors, July 18, 
1885, he made an assignment, but the 
financial trouble broke down his strong con- 
stitution, and January 10, 1887, he died. 
His son, John B. Roach, succeeded to the 
shipbuilding interests, while Stephen W. 
Roach inherited the Morgan Iron Works at 
New York. 



JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, one of 
the two great painters who laid the 
foundation of true American art, was born 
in Boston in 1737, one year earlier than his 
great contemporary, Benjamin West. His 
education was limited to the common schools 
of that time, and his training in art he ob- 
tained by his own observation and experi- 
ments solely. When he was about seven- 
teen years old he had mapped out his future, 
however, by choosing painting as his pro- 



192 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



fession. If he ever studied under any 
teacher in his early efforts, we have no au- 
thentic account of it, and tradition credits 
the young artist's wonderful success en- 
tirely to his own talent and untiring effort. 
It is almost incredible that at the age of 
twenty-three years his income from his 
works aggregated fifteen hundred dollars 
per annum, a very great sum in those days. 
In 1774 he went to Europe in search of ma- 
terial for study, which was so rare in his 
native land. After some time spent in Italy 
he finally took up his permanent residence 
in England. In 1783 he was made a mem- 
ber of the Royal Academy, and later his 
son had the high honor of becoming lord 
chancellor of England and Lord Lyndhurst. 
Many specimens of Copley's work are to 
be found in the Memorial Hall at Harvard 
and in the Boston Museum, as well as a few 
of the works upon which he modeled his 
style. Copley was essentially a portrait 
painter, though his historical paintings at- 
tained great celebrity, his masterpiece 
being his " Death of Major Pierson," though 
that distinction has by some been given to 
his "Death of Chatham." It is said that 
he never saw a good picture until he was 
thirty-five years old, yet his portraits prior 
to that period are regarded as rare speci- 
mens. He died in 181 5. 



HENRY B. PLANT, one of the greatest 
railroad men of the country, became 
famous as president of the Plant system of 
railway and steamer lines, and also the 
Southern & Texas Express Co. He was 
born in October, 18 19, at Branford, 
Connecticut, and entered the railroad serv- 
ice in 1844, serving as express messenger 
on the Hartford & New Haven Railroad until 
1853, during which time he had entire 
charge of the expr^^s* business of that road. 



He went south in 1853 and established ex- 
press lines on various southern railways, and 
in 1 86 1 organized the Southern Express 
Co., and became its president. In 1879 he 
purchased, with others, the Atlantic & Gulf 
Railroad of Georgia, and later reorganized 
the Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad, 
of which he became president. He pur- 
chased and rebuilt, in 1880, the Savannah 
& Charleston Railroad, now Charleston & 
Savannah. Not long after this he organ- 
ized the Plant Investment Co., to control 
these railroads and advance their interests 
generally, and later established a steamboat 
line on the St. John's river, in Florida. 
From 1853 until i860 he was general 
superintendent of the southern division of 
the Adams Express Co., and in 1867 be- 
came president of the Texas Express Co. 
The "Plant system" of railway, steamer 
and steamship lines is one of the greatest 
business corporations of the southern states. 



WADE HAMPTON, a noted Confeder- 
ate officer, was born at Columbia, 
South Carolina, in 18 18. He graduated 
from the South Carolina College, took an 
active part in politics, and was twice elected 
to the legislature of his state. In 1861 he 
joined the Confederate army, and command- 
ed the " Hampton Legion" at the first bat- 
tle of Bull Run, in July, 1861. He did 
meritorious service, was wounded, and pro- 
moted to brigadier-general. He command- 
ed a brigade at Seven Pines, in 1862, and 
was again wounded. He was engaged in 
the battle of Antietam in September of the 
same year, and participated in the raid into 
Pennsylvania in October. In 1863 he was 
with Lee at Gettysburg, where he was 
wounded for the third time. He was pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and 
commanded a troop of cavalry in Lee's 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



army during 1864, and was in numerous en- 
gagements. In 1865 he was in South Car- 
olina, and commanded the cavalry rear 
guard of the Confederate army in its stub- 
born retreat before General Sherman on his 
advance toward Richmond. 

After the war Hampton took an active 
part in politics, and was a prominent figure 
at the Democratic national convention in 
1868, which nominated Seymour and Blair 
for president and vice-president. He was 
governor of South Carolina, and took his 
seat in the United States senate in 1879, 
where he became a conspicuous figure in 
national affairs. 



NIKOLA TESLA, one of the most cele- 
brated electricians America has known, 
was born in 1857, at Smiljau, Lika, Servia. 
He descended from an old and representative 
family of that country. His father was a 
a minister of the Greek church, of high rank, 
while his mother was a woman of remarka- 
ble skill in the construction of looms, churns 
and the machinery required in a rural home. 
Nikola received early education in the 
public schools of Gospich, when he was 
sent to the higher "Real Schule" at Karl- 
stadt, where, after a three years' course, 
he graduated in 1873. He devoted him- 
self to experiments in electricity and 
magnetism, to the chagrin of his father, 
who had destined him for the ministry, 
but giving way to the boy's evident genius 
he was allowed to continue his studies in 
the polytechnic school at Gratz. He in- 
herited a wonderful intuition which enabled 
him to see through the intricacies of ma- 
chinery, and despite his instructor's demon- 
stration that a dynamo could not be oper- 
ated without commutators or brushes, 
began experiments which finally resulted in 
his rotating field motors. After the study 



of languages at Prague and Buda-Pesth, he 
became associated with M. Puskas, who 
had introduced the telephone into Hungary. 
He invented several improvements, but 
being unable to reap the necessary benefit 
from them, he, in search of a wider field, 
went to Paris, where he found employment 
with one of the electric lighting companies 
as electrical engineer. Soon he set his face 
westward, and coming to the United States 
for a time found congenial employment whh 
Thomas A. Edison. Finding it impossible, 
overshadowed as he was, to carry out his 
own ideas he left the Edison works to join 
a company formed to place his own inven- 
tions on the market. He perfected his 
rotary field principle, adapting it to circuits 
then in operation. It is said of him that 
some of his proved theories will change the 
entire electrical science. It would, in an 
article of this length, be impossible to ex- 
plain all that Tesla accomplished for the 
practical side of electrical engineering. 
His discoveries formed the basis of the at- 
tempt to utilize the water power of Niagara 
Falls. His work ranges far beyond the 
vast department of polyphase currents and 
high potential lighting and includes many 
inventions in arc lighting, transformers, 
pyro and thermo-magnetic motors, new 
forms of incandescent lamps, unipolar dyna- 
mos and many others. 



CHARLES B. LEWIS won fame as an 
American humorist under the name of 
"M. Quad." It is said he owes his 
celebrity originally to the fact that he was 
once mixed up in a boiler explosion on the 
Ohio river, and the impressions he received 
from the event he set up from his case when 
he was in the composing room of an ob- 
scure Michigan paper. His style possesses a 
peculiar quaintness, and there runs through 



194 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



it a vein of philosophy. Mr. Lewis was 
born in 1844, near a town called Liverpool, 
Ohio. He was, however, raised in Lansing, 
Michigan, where he spent a year in an agri- 
cultural college, going from there to the 
composing' room of the "Lansing Demo- 
crat." At the outbreak of the war he en- 
listed in the service, remained during the 
entire war, and then returned to Lansing. 
The explosion of the boiler that "blew him 
into fame, " took place two years later, while 
he was on his way south. When he re- 
covered physically, he brought suit for dam- 
ages against the steamboat company, which 
he gained, and was awarded a verdict of 
twelve thousand dollars for injuries re- 
ceived. It was while he was employed by 
the "Jacksonian" of Pontiac, Mich., that he 
set up his account of how he felt while being 
blown up. He says that he signed it "M 
Quad," because "a bourgeoise em quad is 
useless except in its own line — it won't 
justify with any other type." Soon after, 
because of the celebrity he attained by this 
screed, Mr. Lewis secured a place on the 
stafT of the " Detroit Free Press," and made 
for that paper a wide reputation. His 
sketches of the "Lime Kiln Club" and 
" Brudder Gardner " are perhaps the best 
known of his humorous writings. 



HIRAM S. MAXIM, the famous inventor, 
was born in Sangersville, Maine, 
February 5, 1840, the son of Isaac W. 
and Harriet B. Maxim. The town of his 
birth was but a small place, in the 
woods, on the confines of civilization, 
and the family endured many hardships. 
They were without means and entirely 
dependent on themselves to make out of 
raw materials all they needed. The mother 
was an expert spinner, weaver, dyer and 
seamstress and the father a trapper, tanner. 



miller, blacksmith, carpenter, mason and 
farmer. Amid such surroundings young 
Maxim gave early promise of remarkable 
aptitude. With the universal Yankee jack- 
knife the products of his skill excited the 
wonder and interest of the locality. His 
parents did not encourage his latent genius 
but apprenticed him to a coach builder. 
Four years he labored at this uncongenial 
trade but at the end of that time he forsook 
it and entered a machine shop at Fitchburg, 
Massachusetts. Soon mastering the details 
of that business and that of mechanical 
drawing, he went to Boston as the foreman 
of the philosophical instrument manufactory. 
From thence he went to New York and with 
the Novelty Iron Works Shipbuilding Co. 
he gained experience in those trades. His 
inventions up to this time consisted of 
improvements in steam engines, and an 
automatic gas machine, which came into 
general use. In 1877 he turned his attention 
to electricity, and in 1878 produced an 
incandescent lamp, that would burn 1,000 
hours. He was the first to design a process 
for flashing electric carbons, and the first 
to "standardize" carbons for electric light- 
ing. In 1880 he visited Europe and exhibit- 
ing, at the Paris Exposition of 1881, a self- 
regulating machine, was decorated with the 
Legion of Honor. In 1883 he returned to 
London as the European representative of the 
United States Electric Light Co. An incident 
of his boyhood, in which the recoil of a rifle 
was noticed by him, and the apparent loss 
of power shown, in 188 1-2 prompted the 
invention of a gun which utilizes the recoil to 
automatically load and fire seven hundred 
and seventy shots per minute. The Maxim- 
Nordenfelt Gun Co., with a capital of nine 
million dollars, grew from this. In 1883 he 
patented his electric training gear for large 
guns. And later turned his attention to fly- 



COMPEXDTUM OF BIOGRArflV. 



195 



ing machines, which he claimed were not an 
impossibihty. He took out over one hundred 
patents for smokeless gunpowder, and for pe- 
troleum and other motors and autocycles. 



JOHN DAVISON ROCKEFELLER, 
one of America's very greatest financiers 
and philanthropists, was born in Richford, 
Tioga county, New York, July 8, 1839. He 
received a common-school education in his 
native place, and in 1853, when his parents 
removed to Cleveland, Ohio, he entered the 
high school of that city. After a two-years' 
course of diligent work, he entered the com- 
mission and forwarding house of Hewitt & 
Tuttle, of Cleveland, remaining with the 
firm some years, and then began business 
for himself, forming a partnership with 
Morris B. Clark. Mr. Rockefeller was then 
but nineteen years of age, and during the 
year i860, in connection with others, they 
started the oil refining business, under the 
firm name of Andrews, Clark & Co. Mr. 
Rockefeller and Mr. Andrews purchased the 
interest of their associates, and, after taking 
William Rockefeller into the firm, established 
offices in Cleveland under the name of 
William Rockefeller & Co. Shortly after 
this the house of Rockefeller & Co. was es- 
tablished in New York for the purpose of 
finding a market for their products, -and two 
years later all the refining companies were 
consolidated under the firm name of Rocke- 
feller, Andrews & Flagler. This firm was 
succeeded in 1870 by the Standard Oil 
Company of Ohio, said to be the most 
gigantic business corporation of modern 
times. John D. Rockefeller's fortune has 
been variously estimated at from one hun- 
dred million to two hundred million dollars. 

Mr. Rockefeller's philanthropy mani- 1 
fested itself principally through the American 
Baptist Educational Society. He donated 



the building for the Spelman Institute at 
Atlanta, Georgia, a school for the instruction 
of negroes. His other gifts were to the 
University of Rochester, Cook Academy, 
Peddie Institute, and Vassar College, be- 
sides smaller gifts to many institutions 
throughout the country. His princely do- 
nations, however, were to the University of 
Chicago. His first gift to this institution 
was a conditional offer of six hundred thou- 
sand dollars in 1S89, and when this amount 
was paid he added one million more. Dur- 
ing 1892 he made it two gifts of one million 
each, and all told, his donations to this one 
institution aggregated between seven and 
eight millions of dollars. 



JOHN M. PALMER.— For over a third 
of a century this gentleman occupied a 
prominent place in the political world, both 
in the state of Illinois and on the broader 
platform of national issues. 

Mr. Palmer was born at Eagle Creek, 
Scott county, Kentucky, September 13, 
1 8 17. The family subsequently removed 
to Christian county, in the same state, where 
he acquired a common-school education, and 
made his home until 1831. His father was 
opposed to slavery, and in the latter year 
removed to Illinois and settled near Alton. 
In 1834 John entered Alton College, or- 
ganized on the manual-labor plan, but his 
funds failing, abandoned it and entered a 
cooper shop. He subsequently was en- 
gaged in peddling, and teaching a district 
school near Canton. In 1838 he began the 
study of law, and the following year re- 
moved to Carlinville, where, in December of 
that year, he was admitted to the bar. He 
was shortly after defeated for county clerk. 
In 1843 he was elected probate judge. In 
the constitutional convention of 1847, Mr. 
Palmer was a delegate, and from 1849 to 



196 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



1851 he was county judge. In 1852 he be- 
came a member of the state senate, but not 
being with his party on the slavery question 
he resigned that office in 1854. In 1856 
Mr. Palmer was chairman of the first Re- 
publican state convention held in Illinois, 
and the same year was a delegate to the 
national convention. In i860 he was an 
elector on the Lincoln ticket, and on the 
breaking out of the war entered the service 
as colonel of the Fourteenth Illinois Infan- 
try, but was shortly after brevetted brigadier- 
general. In August, 1862, he organized 
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illi- 
nois Infantry, but in September he was 
placed in command of the first division of 
the Army of the Mississippi, afterward was 
promoted to the rank of major-general. In 
1865 he was assigned to the military ad- 
ministration in Kentucky. In 1867 General 
Palmer was elected governor of Illinois and 
served four years. In 1872 he went v/ith 
the Liberal Republicans, who supported 
Horace Greeley, after which time he was 
identified with the Democratic party. In 
1890 he was elected United States senator 
from Illinois, and served as such for six 
years. In 1896, on the adoption of the sil- 
ver plank in the platform of the Democratic 
party. General Palmer consented to lead, 
as presidential candidate, the National Dem- 
ocrats, or Gold Democracy. 



WILLIAM H. BEARD, the humorist 
among American painters, was born 
at Painesville, Ohio, in 1821. His father, 
James H. Beard, was also a painter of na- 
tional reputation. William H. Beard be- 
gan his career as a traveling portrait 
painter. He pursued his studies in New 
York, and later removed to Buffalo, where 
he achieved reputation. He then went to 



Italy and after a short stay returned to New 
York and opened a studio. One of his 
earliest paintings was a small picture called 
"Cat and Kittens," which was placed in 
the National Academy onexhibition. Among 
his best productions are "Raining Cats and 
Dogs," "The Dance of Silenus, " "Bears 
on a Bender," "Bulls and Bears," " Whoo!" 
"Grimalkin's Dream," "Little Red Riding 
Hood," "The Guardian of the Flag." His 
animal pictures convey the most ludicrous 
and satirical ideas, and the intelligent, 
human expression in their faces is most 
comical. Some artists and critics have re- 
fused to give Mr. Beard a place among the 
first circles in art, solely on account of the 
class of subjects he has chosen. 



WW. CORCORAN, the noted philan- 
throphist, was born at Georgetown, 
District of Columbia, December 27, 1798. 
At the age of twenty-five he entered the 
banking business in Washington, and in 
time became very wealthy. He was 
noted for his magnificent donations to char- 
ity. Oak Hill cemetery was donated to 
Georgetown in 1847, and ten years later the 
Corcoran Art Gallery, Temple of Art, was 
presented to the city of Washington. The 
uncompleted building was utilized by the 
government as quartermaster's headquar- 
ters during the war. The building was 
completed after the war at a cost of a mil- 
lion and a half dollars, all the gift of Mr. 
Corcoran. The Louise Home for Women 
is another noble charity to his credit. Its 
object is the care of women of gentle breed- 
ing who in declining years are without 
means of support. In addition to this he 
gave liberally to many worthy institutions 
of learning and charity. He died at Wash- 
ington February 24, 1888, 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



197 



ALBERT BIERSTADT, the noted paint- 
er of American landscape, was born in 
Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1829, and was 
brought to America by his parents at the 
age of two years. He received his early 
education here, but returned to Dusseldorf 
to study painting, and also went to Rome. 
On his return to America he accompanied 
Lander's expedition across the continent, in 
1858, and soon after produced his most 
popular work, "The Rocky Mountains — 
Lander's Peak. " Its boldness and grandeur 
were so unusual that it made him famous. 
The picture sold for twenty-five thousand 
dollars. In 1867 Mr. Bierstadt went to 
Europe, with a government commission, 
and gathered materials for his great historic- 
al work, "Discovery of the North River 
by Hendrik Hudson." Others of his great 
works were "Storm in the Rocky Mount- 
ains," " Valley of the Yosemite," "North 
Fork of the Platte," "Diamond Pool," 
"Mount Hood," "Mount Rosalie," and 
"The Sierra Nevada Mountains." His 
"Estes Park" sold for fifteen thousand 
dollars, and "Mount Rosalie" brought 
thirty-five thousand dollars. His smaller 
Rocky mountain scenes, however, are vast- 
ly superior to his larger works in execution 
and coloring. 

ADDISON CAMMACK, a famous mill- 
ionaire Wall street speculator, was 
born in Kentucky. When sixteen years old 
he ran away from home and went to New 
Orleans, where he went to work in a ship- 
ping house. He outlived and outworked 
all the partners, and became the head of the 
firm before the opening of the war. At 
that time he fitted out small vessels and en- 
gaged in running the blockade of southern 
ports and carrying ammunition, merchan- 
dise, etc., to the southern people. This 



made him a fortune. At the close of the 
war he quit business and went to New 
York. For two years he did not enter any 
active business, but seemed to be simply an 
on-looker in the great speculative center of 
America. He was observing keenly the 
methods and financial machinery, however, 
and when, in 1867, he formed a partnership 
with the popular Charles J. Osborne, the 
firm began to prosper. He never had an 
office on the street, but wandered into the 
various brokers' offices and placed his orders 
as he saw fit. In 1873 he dissolved his 
partnership with Osborne and operated 
alone. He joined a band of speculative 
conspirators known as the "Twenty-third 
party," and was the ruling spirit in that or- 
ganization for the control of the stock mar- 
ket. He was always on the ' ' bear "side and 
the only serious obstacle he ever encoun- 
tered was the persistent boom in industrial 
stocks, particularly sugar, engineered by 
James R. Keane. Mr. Cammack fought 
Keane for two years, and during the time is 
said to have lost no less than two million 
dollars before he abandoned the fight. 

WALT. WHITMAN.— Foremost among 
the lesser poets of the latter part of the 
nineteenth century, the gentleman whose 
name adorns the head of this article takes 
a conspicuous place. 

Whitman was born at West Hills, Long 
Island, New York, May 13, 1809. In the 
schools of Brooklyn he laid the foundation 
of his education, and early in life learned the 
printer's trade. For a time he taught coun- 
try schools in his native state. In 1846-7 
he was editor of the "Brooklyn Eagle," 
but in 1848-9 was on the editorial staff of 
the ' ' Crescent, " of New Orleans. He 
made an extended tour throughout the 
United States and Canada, and returned to 



198 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



Brooklyn, where, in 1850, he published the 
"Freeman. " For some years succeeding 
this he was engaged as carpenter and builder. 
During the Civil war. Whitman acted as 
a volunteer nurse in the hospitals at 
Washington and vicinity and from the close 
of hostilities until 1873 he was employed 
in various clerkships in the government 
offices in the nation's capital. In the latter 
year he was stricken with paralysis as a 
result of his labors in the hospital, it is 
said, and being partially disabled lived for 
many years at Camden, New Jersey. 

The first edition of the work which was 
to bring him fame, "Leaves of Grass," was 
published in 1855 and was but a small 
volume of about ninety-four pages. Seven 
or eight editions of "Leaves of Grass" have 
been issued, each enlarged and enriched with 
new poems. "Drum Taps," at first a 
separate publication, has been incorporated 
with the others. This volume and one 
prose writing entitled " Specimen Days and 
Collect," constituted his whole work. 

Walt. Whitman died at Camden, New 
Jersey, March 26, 1892. 



HENRY DUPONT, who became cele- 
brated as America's greatest manufact- 
urer of gunpowder, was a native of Dela- 
ware, born August 8, 18 12. He received 
his education in its higher branches at the 
United States Military Academy at West 
Point, from which he graduated and entered 
the army as second lieutenant of artillery in 
1833. In 1834 he resigned and became 
proprietor of the extensive gunpowder 
manufacturing plant that bears his name, 
near Wilmington, Delaware. His large 
business interests interfered with his tak- 
ing any active participation in political 
life, although for many years he served 
as adjutant-general of his native state, and 



during the war as major-general command- 
ing the Home Guards. He died August 8, 
1889. His son, Henry A. Dupont, also was 
a native of Delaware, and was born July 30, 
1838. After graduating from West Point 
in 1 86 1, he entered the army as second 
lieutenant of engineers. Shortly after he 
was transferred to the Fifth Artillery as first 
lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank 
of captain in 1864, serving in camp and 
garrison most of the time. He was in com- 
mand of a battery in the campaign of 
1863-4. As chief of artillery of the army of 
West Virginia, he figured until the close of 
the war, being in the battles of Opequan, 
Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, besides 
many minor engagements. He afterward 
acted as instructor in the artillery school at 
Fortress Monroe, and on special duty at 
West Point. He resigned from the army 
March i, 1875. 



WILLIAM DEERING, one of the fa- 
mous manufacturers of America, and 
also a philanthropist and patron of educa- 
tion, was born in Maine in 1826. His an- 
cestors were English, having settled in New 
England in 1634. Early in life it was Will- 
iam's intention to become a physician, and 
after completing his common-school educa- 
tion, when about eighteen years of age, he 
began an apprenticeship with a physician. 
A short time later, however, at the request 
of his father, he took charge of his father's 
business interests, which included a woolen 
mill, retail store and grist mill, after which 
he became agent for a dry goods commission 
house in Portland, where he was married. 
Later he became partner in the firm, and 
removed to New York. The business pros- 
pered, and after a number of years, on ac- 
count of failing health, Mr. Deering sold his 
ifiterest to his partner, a Mr. Milner. The 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT 



business has since made Mr. Milner a mill- 
ionaire many times over. A few years 
later Mr. Deering located in Chicago. His 
beginning in the manufacture of reapers, 
which has since made his name famous, 
was somewhat of an accident. He had 
loaned money to a man in that business, 
and in 1878 was compelled to buy out the 
business to protect his interests. The busi- 
ness developed rapidly and grew to immense 
proportions. The factories now cover si.xty- 
two acres of ground and employ many thou- 
sands of men. 



JOHN McAllister schofield, an 
American general, was born in Chautau- 
qua county, New York, September 29, 1831. 
He graduated at West Point in 1853, and 
was for five years assistant professor of nat- 
ural philosophy in that institution. In 1861 
he entered the volunteer service as major of 
the First Missouri Volunteers, and was ap- 
pointed chief of staff by General Lyon, under 
whom he fought at the battle of Wilson's 
Creek. In November, 1861, he was ap- 
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and 
was placed in command of the Missouri 
militia until November, 1862, and of the 
army of the frontier from that time until 
1863. In 1862 he was made major-general 
of volunteers, and was placed in command of 
the Department of the Missouri, and in 1864 
of the Department of the Ohio. During the 
campaign through Georgia General Scho- 
field was in command of the Twenty-third 
Army Corps, and was engaged in most of the 
fighting of that famous campaign. Novem- 
ber 30, 1864, he defeated Hood's army at 
Franklin, Tennessee, and then joined Gen- 
eral Thomas at Nashville. He took part in 
the battle of Nashville, where Hood's army 
was destroyed. In January, 1865, he led 
his corps into North Carolina, captured 



Wilmington, fought the battle of Kingston, 
and joined General Sherman at Goldsboro 
March 22, 1865. He executed the details 
of the capitulation of General Johnston to 
Sherman, which practically closed the war. 
In June, 1868, General Schofield suc- 
ceeded Edwin M. Stanton as secretary of 
war, but was the next year appointed major- 
general of the United States army, and order- 
ed to the Department of the Missouri. From 
1870 to 1876 he was in command of the De- 
partment of the Pacific; from 1876 to 1881 
superintendent of the West Point Military 
Academy; in 1883 he was in charge of the 
Department of the Missouri, and in 1886 of 
the division of the Atlantic. In 1888 he 
became general-in-chief of the United States 
army, and in February, 1895, was appoint- 
ed lieutenant-general by President Cleve- 
land, that rank having been revived by con- 
gress. In September, 1895, he was retired 
from active service. 



LEWIS WALLACE, an American gen- 
eral and famous author, was born in 
Brookville, Indiana, April 10, 1827. He 
served in the Mexican war as first lieutenant 
of a company of Indiana Volunteers. After 
his return from Mexico he was admitted to 
the bar, and practiced law in Covington and 
Crawfordsville, Indiana, until 1861. At the 
opening of the war he was appointed ad- 
jutant-general of Indiana, and soon after be- 
came colonel of the Eleventh Indiana Vol- 
unteers. He defeated a force of Confeder- 
ates at Romney, West Virginia, and was 
made brigadier-general in September, 1861. 
At the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862 he 
commanded a division, and was engaged in 
the second day's fight at Shiloh. In 1863 
his defenses about Cincinnati saved that city 
from capture by Kirby Smith. At Monoc- 
acy in July, 1S64, he was defeated, but 



200 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



his resistance delayed the advance of Gen- 
eral Early and thus saved Washington from 
capture. 

General Wallace was a member of the 
court that tried the assassins of President 
Lincoln, and also of that before whom Cap- 
tain Henry Wirtz, who had charge of the 
Andersonville prison, was tried. In 1881 
General Wallace was sent as minister to 
Turkey. When not in official service he 
devoted much of his time to literature. 
Among his better known works are his 
"Fair God," "Ben Hur," "Prince of 
India," and a " Life of Benjamin Harrison." 



THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD, an Ameri- 
can statesman and diplomat, was born 
at Wilmington, Delaware, October 29, 1828. 
He obtained his education at an Episcopal 
academy at Flushing, Long Island, and 
after a short service in a mercantile house in 
New York, he returned to Wilmington and 
entered his father's law office to prepare 
himself for the practice of that profession. 
He was admitted to the bar in 185 1. He 
was appointed to the office of United States 
district attorney for the state of Delaware, 
serving one year. In 1 869 he was elected to 
the United States senate, and continuously 
represented his state in that body until 1885, 
and in 1881, when Chester A. Arthur entered 
the presidential chair, Mr. Bayard was 
chosen president pro tempore of the senate. 
He had also served on the famous electoral 
commission that decided the Hayes-Tilden 
contest in 1876-7. In 1885 President Cleve- 
land appointed Mr. Bayard secretary of 
state. At the beginning of Cleveland's sec- 
ond term, in 1893, Mr. Bayard was selected 
for the post of ambassador at the court of 
St. James, London, and was the first to hold 
that rank in American diplomacy, serving 
until the beginning of the McKinley admin- 



istration. The questions for adjustment at 
that time between the two governments 
were the Behring Sea controversy and the 
Venezuelan boundary question. He was 
very popular in England because of his 
tariff views, and because of his criticism of 
the protective policy of the United States 
in his public speeches delivered in London, 
Edinburgh and other places, he received, in 
March, 1896, a vote of censure in the lower 
house of congress. 



JOHN WORK GARRETT, for so many 
years at the head of the great Baltimore 
& Ohio railroad system, was born in Balti- 
more, Maryland, July 31, 1820. His father, 
Robert Garrett, an enterprising merchant, 
had amassed a large fortune from a small 
beginning. The son entered Lafayette Col- 
lege in 1834, but left the following year and 
entered his father's counting room, and in 
1839 became a partner. John W. Gar- 
rett took a great interest in the develop- 
ment of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He 
was elected one of the directors in 1857, 
and was its president from 1858 until his 
death. When he took charge of the road 
it was in an embarrassed condition, but 
within a year, for the first time in its exist- 
ence, it paid a dividend, the increase in its 
net gains being $725,385. After the war, 
during which the road suffered much damage 
from the Confederates, numerous branches 
and connecting roads were built or acquired, 
until it reached colossal proportions. Mr. 
Garrett was also active in securing a regular 
line of steamers between Baltimore and 
Bremen, and between the same port and 
Liverpool. He was one of the most active 
trustees of Johns Hopkins University, and a 
liberal contributor to the Young Men's 
Christian Association of Baltimore. He 
died September 26, 1884. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir. 



201 



Robert Garrett, the son of John W. 
Garrett, was born in Baltimore April 9, 
1847, and graduated from Princeton in 1867. 
He received a business education in the 
banking house of his father, and in 1871 
became president of the Valley Railroad of 
Virginia. He was made third vice-presi- 
dent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 
1S79, and first vice-president in 188 1. He 
succeeded his father as president in 1884. 
Robert Garrett died July 29, 1896. 



CARL SCHURZ, a noted German-Ameri- 
can statesman, was born in Liblar, Prus- 
sia, March 2, 1829. He studied at the Uni- 
versity of Bonn, and in 1849 was engaged in 
an attempt to excite an insurrection at that 
place. After the surrender of Rastadt by 
the revolutionists, in the defense of which 
Schurz took part, he decided to emigrate to 
America. He resided in Philadelphia three 
years, and then settled in Watertown, Wis- 
consin, and in 1859 removed to Milwaukee, 
where he practiced law. On the organiza- 
tion of the Republican party he became a 
leader of the German element and entered 
the campaign for Lincoln in i860. He was 
appointed minister to Spain in 1861, but re- 
signed in December of that year to enter 
the army. He was appointed brigadier- 
general in 1862, and participated in the 
second battle of Bull Run, and also at 
Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg he had 
temporary command of the Eleventh Army 
Corps, and also took part in the battle of 
Chattanooga. 

After the war he located at St. Louis, 
and in 1869 was elected United States sena- 
tor from Missouri. He supported Horace 
Greeley for the presidency in 1872, and in 
the campaign of 1876, having removed to 
New York, he supported Hayes and the Re- 
publican ticket, and was appointed secre- 



tary of the interior in 1877. In 1881 he 
became editor of the "New York Evening 
Post," and in 1884 was prominent in his 
opposition to James G. Blaine, and became 
a leader of the "Mugwumps," thus assist- 
ing in the election of Cleveland. In the 
presidential campaign of 1896 his forcible 
speeches in the interest of sound money 
wielded an immense influence. Mr. Schurz 
wrote a "Life of Henry Clay," said to be 
the best biography ever published of that 
eminent statesman. 



GEORGE F. EDMUNDS, an American 
statesman of national reputation, was 
born in Richmond, Vermont, February i, 
1828. His education was obtained in the 
public schools and from the instructions of 
a private tutor. He was admitted to the 
bar, practiced law, and served in the state 
legislature from 1854 to 1859, during three 
years of that time being speaker of the lower 
house. He was elected to the state senate 
and acted as president pro tcuiporc of that 
body in 1861 and 1862. Hebecame promi- 
nent for his activity in the impeachment 
proceedings against President Johnson, and 
was appointed to the United States senate 
to fill out the unexpired term of Solomon 
Foot, entering that body in 1866. He was 
re-elected to the senate four times, and 
served on the electoral commission in 1877. 
He became president pro tempore of the 
senate after the death of President Garfield, 
and was the author of the bill which put an 
end to the practice of polygamy in the ter- 
ritory of Utah. In November, 1891, owing 
to impaired health, he retired from the sen- 
ate and again resumed the practice of law. 



LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR, a prominent 
political leader, statesman and jurist, 
was born in Putnam county, Georgia, Sep- 



202 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



temberij, 1825. He graduated from Emory 
College in 1845, studied law at Macon under 
Hon. A. H. Chappell, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1847. He moved to Oxford, 
Mississippi, in 1849, and was elected to a 
professorship in the State University. He 
resigned the next year and returned to Cov- 
ington, Georgia, and resumed the practice 
of law. In 1853 he was elected to the 
Georgia Legislature, and in 1854 he removed 
to his plantation in Lafayette county, Mis- 
sissippi, and was elected to represent his 
district in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth 
congresses. He resigned in i860, and was 
sent as a delegate to the secession conven- 
tion of the state. He entered the Confed- 
erate service in 1861 as lieutenant-colonel 
of the Nineteenth Regiment, and was soon 
after made colonel. In 1863 President 
Davis appointed him to an important diplo- 
matic mission to Russia. In 1866 he was 
elected professor of political economy and 
social science in the State University, and 
was soon afterward transferred to the pro- 
fessorship of the law department. He rep- 
resented his district in the forty-third and 
forty-fourth congresses, and was elected 
United States senator from Mississippi in 
1877, and re-elected in 1882. In 1885. be- 
fore the expiration of his term, he was 
appointed by President Cleveland as secre- 
tary of the interior, which position he held 
until his appointment as associate justice of 
the United States supreme court, in 1888, 
in which capacity he served until his death, 
January 23, 1894. 



BENJAMIN PENHALLOW SHILLA- 
BER won fame in the world of 
humorists under the name of "Mrs. Parting- 
ton." He was born in 1841 at Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, and started out in life as a 
printer. Mr. Shillaber went to Dover, 



where he secured employment in a printing 
office, and from there he went to Demerara, 
Guiana, where he was employed as a com- 
positor in 1835-37. In 1840 he became 
connected with the "Boston Post," and 
acquired quite a reputation as a humorist 
by his "Sayings of Mrs. Partington." He 
remained as editor of the paper until 1850, 
when he printed and edited a paper of his 
own called the "Pathfinder," which he con- 
tinued until 1852. Mr. Shillaber be- 
came editor and proprietor of the "Carpet 
Bag," which he conducted during 1850-52, 
and then returned to the "Boston Post," 
with which he was connected until 1856. 
During the same time he was one of the 
editors of the "Saturday Evening Gazette," 
and continued in this line after he severed 
his connection with the "Post," for ten 
years. After 1866 Mr. Shillaber wrote for 
various newspapers and periodicals, and 
during his life published the following 
books: ' 'Rhymes with Reason and Without, " 
"Poems," "Life and Sayings of Mrs. Part- 
ington," "Knitting Work," and others. 
His death occurred at Chelsea, Massachu- 
setts, November 25, 1890. 



EASTMAN JOHNSON stands first among 
painters of American country life. He 
was born in Lovell, Maine, in 1824, and be- 
gan his work in drawing at the age of eight- 
een years. His first works were portraits, 
and, as he took up his residence in Wash- 
ington,, the most famous men of the nation 
were his subjects. In 1846 he went to Bos- 
ton, and there made crayon portraits of 
Longfellow, Emerson, Sumner, Hawthorne 
and other noted men. In 1849 he went to 
Europe. He studied at Dusseldorf, Ger- 
many; spent a year at the Royal Academy, 
and thence to The Hague, where he spent 
four years, producing there his first pictures 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



of consequence, "The Card-Players " and 
"Tlie Savoyard." He then went to Paris, 
but was called home, after an absence from 
America of six years. He lived some time 
in Washington, and then spent two years 
among the Indians of Lake Superior. In 
1858 he produced his famous picture, "The 
Old Kentucky Home." He took up his 
permanent residence at New York at that 
time. His " Sunday Morning in Virginia " 
is a work of equal merit. He was espe- 
cially successful in coloring, a master of 
drawing, and the expression conveys with 
precision the thought of the artist. His 
portrayal of family life and child life is un- 
equalled. Among his other great works are 
"The Confab," "Crossing a Stream,' 
"Chimney Sweep," "Old Stage Coach," 
" The New Bonnet," " The Drummer Boy," 
" Childhood of Lincoln," and a great vari- 
ety of equally familiar subjects. 



PIERCE GUST AVE TOUTANT BEAU- 
REGARD, one of the most distin- 
guished generals in the Confederate army, 
was born near New Orleans, Louisiana, 
May 28, 181 8. He graduated from West 
Point Military Academy in 1838, and was 
made second lieutenant of engineers. He 
was with General Scott in Mexico, and dis- 
tinguished himself at Vera Cruz, Cerro 
Gordo, and the battles near the City of 
Mexico, for which he was twice brevetted. 
After the Mexican war closed he was placed 
in charge of defenses about New Orleans, 
and in i860 was appointed superintendent 
of the United States Military Academy at 
West Point. He held this position but a 
few months, when he resigned February 20, 
1 86 1, and accepted a commission of briga- 
dier-general in the Confederate army. He 
directed the attack on Fort Sumter, the 
first engagement of the Civil war. He was 



in command of the Confederates at the first 
battle of Bull Run, and for this victory was 
made general. In 1862 he was placed in 
command of the Army of the Mississippi, 
and planned the attack upon General Grant 
at Shiloh, and upon the death of General 
Johnston he took command of the army 
and was only defeated by the timely arrival 
of General Buell with reinforcements. He 
commanded at Charleston and successfully 
defended that city against the combined at- 
tack by land and sea in 1863. In 1864 he 
was in command in Virginia, defeating Gen- 
eral Butler, and resisting Grant's attack 
upon Petersburg until reinforced from Rich- 
mond. During the long siege which fol- 
lowed he was sent to check General Sher- 
man's march to the sea, and was with Gen- 
eral Joseph E. Johnston when that general 
surrendered in 1865. After the close of the 
war he was largely interested in railroad 
management. In 1866 he was offered chief 
command of the Army of Roumania, and in 
1869, that of the Army of Egypt. He de- 
clined these offers. His death occurred 
February 20, 1893. 



HENRY GEORGE, one of America's 
most celebrated political economists, 
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
September2, 1839. He received acommon- 
school education and entered the high 
school in 1853, and then went into a mer- 
cantile office. He made several voyages on 
the sea, and settled in California in 1858. 
He then worked at the printer's trade for a 
number of years, which he left to follow the 
editorial profession. He edited in succession 
several daily newspapers, and attracted at- 
tention by a number of strong essays and 
speeches on political and social questions. 
In 1 87 1 he edited a pamphlet, entitled "Our 
Land and Policy," in which he outlined a 



204 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT. 



theory, which has since made him so widely 
known. This was developed in " Progress 
and Poverty," a book which soon attained a 
large circulation on both sides of the Atlan- 
tic, which has been extensively translated. 
In 1880 Mr. George located in New York, 
where he made his home, though he fre- 
quently addressed audiences in Great Britain, 
Ireland, Australia, and throughout the 
United States. In 1886 he was nominated 
by the labor organizations for mayor of New 
York, and made a campaign notable for its 
development of unexpectedpower. In 1887 he 
was candidate of the Union Labor party for 
secretary of state of New York. These cam- 
paigns served to formulate the idea of a single 
tax and popularize the Australian ballot sys- 
tem. Mr. George became a free trader in 
1888, and in 1892 supported the election of 
Grover Cleveland. His political and eco- 
nomic ideas, known as the "single tax," 
have a large and growing support, but are 
not confined to this country alone. He 
wrote numerous miscellaneous articles in 
support of his principles, and also published: 
"The Land Question," " Social Problems," 
"Protection or Free Trade," "The Condi- 
tion of Labor, an Open Letter to Pope Leo 
XIII.," and " Perplexed Philosopher." 



THOMAS ALEXANDER SCOTT. —This 
name is indissolubly connected with 
the history and development of the railway 
systems of the United States. Mr. Scott 
was born December 28, 1823, at London, 
Franklin county, Pennsylvania. He was first 
regularly employed by Major James Patton, 
the collector of tolls on the state road be- 
tween Philadelphia and Columbia, Penn- 
sylvania. He entered into the employ of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1850, 
and went through all the different branches 
of work until he had mastered all the details 



of the office work, and in 1858 he was ap- 
pointed general superintendent. Mr. Scott 
was the next year chosen vice-president of 
the road. This position at once brought 
him before the public, and the enterprise 
and ability displayed by him in its manage- 
ment marked him as a leader among the 
railroad men of the country. At the out- 
break of the rebellion in 1861, Mr. Scott 
was selected by Governor Curtin as a mem- 
ber of his staff, and placed in charge of the 
equipment and forwarding of the state troops 
to the seat of war. On April 27, 1861, the 
secretary of war desired to establish a new 
line of road between the national capital 
and Philadelphia, for the more expeditious 
transportation of troops. He called upon 
Mr. Scott to direct this work, and the road 
by the way of Annapolis and Perryville was 
completed in a marvelously short space of 
time. On May 3, 1861, he was commis- 
sioned colonel of volunteers, and on the 23d 
of the same month the government railroads 
and telegraph lines were placed in his charge. 
Mr. Scott was the first assistant secretary 
of war ever appointed, and he took charge 
of this new post August i, 1861. In Janu- 
ary, 1862, he was directed to organize 
transportation in the northwest, and in 
March he performed the same service on 
the western rivers. He resigned June i, 
1862, and resumed his direction of affairs on 
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Colonel Scott 
directed the policy that secured to his road 
the control of the western roads, and be- 
came the president of the new company to 
operate these lines in 1871. For one year, 
from March, 1871, he was president of the 
Union Pacific Railroad, and m 1874 he suc- 
ceeded to the presidency of the Pennsyl- 
vania Company. He projected the Texas 
Pacific Railroad and was for many years its 
president. Colonel Scott's health failed 



COM/'EXn/LM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



205 



him and he resigned the presidency of the 
mad June I, i88o, and died at his home in 
Darby, Pennsylvania, May 2 i, 1881. 

ROBERT TOOMBS, an American states- 
man of note, was born in Wilkes coun- 
ty, Georgia, July 2, 18 10. He attended 
the University of Georgia, and graduated 
from Union College, Schenectady, New 
York, and then took a law course at the 
University of Virginia. In 1830, before he 
had attained his majority, he was admitted 
to the bar by special act of the legislature, 
and rose rapidly in his profession, attracting 
the attention of the leading statesmen and 
judges of that time. He raised a volunteer 
company for the Creek war, and served as 
captain to the close. He was elected to the 
state legislature in 1837, re-elected in 1842, 
and in 1844 was elected to congress. He 
had been brought up as a Jeffersonian 
Democrat, but voted for Harrison in 1840 
and for Clay in 1844. He made his first 
speech in congress on the Oregon question, 
and immediately took rank with the greatest 
debaters of that body. In 1853 he was 
elected to the United States senate, and 
again in 1859, but when his native state 
seceded he resigned his seat in the senate 
and was elected to the Confederate con- 
gress. It is stated on the best authority 
that had it not been for a misunderstanding 
which could not be explained till too late he 
would have been elected president of the 
Confederacy. He was appointed secretary 
of state by President Davis, but resigned 
after a few months and was commissioned 
brigadier-general in the Confederate army. 
He won distinction at the second battle of 
Bull Run and at Sharpsburg. but resigned 
his commission soon after and returned to 
Georgia. He organized the militia of 
Georgia to resist Sherman, and was made 



brigadier-general of the state troops. He 
left the country at the close of the war and 
did not return until 1867. He died Decem- 
ber IS, 1885. 

AUSTIN CORBIN, one of the greatest 
railway magnates of the United States, 
was born July 11, 1827, at Newport, New 
Hampshire. He studied law with Chief 
Justice Cushing and Governor Ralph Met- 
calf, and later took a course in the Harvard 
Law School, where he graduated in 1849. 
He was admitted to the bar, and practiced 
law, with Governor Metcalf as his partner, 
until October 12, 185 1. Mr. Corbin then 
removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he re- 
mained until 1865. In 1S54 he was a part- 
ner in the banking firm of Macklot & Cor- 
bin, and later he organized the First Na- 
tional bank of Davenport, Iowa, which 
commenced business June 29, 1863, and 
which was the first national bank open for 
business in the United States. Mr. Corbin 
sold out his business in the Davenport bank, 
and removed to New York in 1865 and com- 
menced business with partners under the 
style of Corbin Banking Company. Soon 
after his removal to New York he became 
interested in railroads, and became one of 
the leading railroad men of the country. 
The development of the west half of Coney 
Island as a summer resort first brought him 
into general prominence. He built a rail- 
road from New York to the island, and 
built great hotels on its ocean front. He 
next turned his attention to Long Island, 
and secured all the railroads and consoli- 
dated them under one management, became 
president of the system, and under his con- 
trol Long Island became the great ocean 
suburb of New York. His latest public 
achievement was the rehabilitation of the 
Reading Railroad, of Pennsylvania, and 



206 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



during the same time he and his friends 
purchased the controlling interest of the 
New Jersey Central Railroad. He took it 
out of the hands of the receiver, and in 
three years had it on a dividend-paying 
basis. Mr. Corbin's death occurred June 
4, 1896. 

JAMES GORDON BENNETT, Sr., 
was one of the greatest journalists of 
America in his day. He was born Septem- 
ber I, 1795, at New Mill, near Keith, Scot- 
land. At the age of fourteen he was sent 
to Aberdeen to study for the priesthood, 
but, convinced that he was mistaken in his 
vocation, he determined to emigrate. He 
landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1819, 
where he attempted to earn a living by 
teaching bookkeeping. Failing in this he 
went to Boston and found employment as a 
proof reader. Mr. Bennett went to New 
York about 1822 and wrote for the news- 
papers. Later on he became assistant 
editor in the office of the "Charleston 
Courier, "but returned to New York in 1824 
and endeavored to start a commercial 
school, but was unsuccessful in this, and 
again returned to newspaper work. He 
continued in newspaper work with varying 
success until, at his suggestion, the "En- 
quirer" was consolidated with another 
paper, and became the "Courier and En- 
quirer," with James Watson Webb as 
editor and Mr. Bennett for assistant. At 
this time this was the leading American 
newspaper. He, however, severed his con- 
nection with this newspaper and tried, 
without success, other ventures in the line 
of journalism until May 6, 1835, when he 
issued the first number of the "New York 
Herald." Mr. Bennett wrote the entire 
paper, and made up for lack of news by his 
own imagination. The paper became popu- 



lar, and in 1838 he engaged European jour- 
nalists as regular correspondents. In 1841 
the income derived from his paper was at 
least one hundred thousand dollars. Dur- 
ing the Civil war the " Herald " had on its 
staff sixty-three war correspondents and the 
circulation was doubled. Mr. Bennett was 
interested with John W. Mackay in that great 
enterprise which is now known as the Mac- 
kay-Bennett Cable. He had collected for use 
in his paper over fifty thousand biographies, 
sketches and all manner of information re- 
garding every well-known man, which are 
still kept in the archives of the "Herald" 
office. He died in the city of New York in 
1872, and left to his son, James Gordon, 
Jr., one of the greatest and most profitable 
journals in the United States, or even in the 
world. 

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, a 
noted American, won distinction in the 
field of literature, in which he attained a 
world-wide reputation. He was born at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 29, 1809. 
He received a collegiate education and grad- 
uated from Harvard in 1829, at the age of 
twenty, and took up the study of law and 
later studied medicine. Dr. Holmes at- 
tended several years in the hospitals of 
Europe and received his degree in 1836. 
He became professor of anatomy and phys- 
iology in Dartmouth in 1838, and re- 
mained there until 1847, when he was 
called to the Massachusetts Medical School 
at Boston to occupy the same chair, which 
position he resigned in 1S82. The first 
collected edition of his poems appeared in 
1836, and his "Phi Beta Kappa Poems," 
"Poetry," in 1836; "Terpsichore," in 1843; 
"Urania," in 1846, and "Astrsea, " won for 
him many fresh laurels. His series of 
papers in the "Atlantic Monthly," were: 



COMPEXD/(7.\r OF BIOGRAPHT. 



207 



"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," "Pro- 
fessor at the Breakfast Table," "Poet at 
the Breakfast Table," and are a series of 
masterly wit, humor and pathos. Among 
hismedical papers and addresses, are: "Cur- 
rents and Counter-currents in the Medical 
Science," and "Borderland in Some Prov- 
inces of Medical Science." Mr. Holmes 
edited quite a number of works, of which 
we quote the following: "Else Venner, " 
"Songs in Many Keys," "Soundings from 
the Atlantic," "Humorous Poems," "The 
Guardian Angel," "Mechanism in Thoughts 
and Morals," "Songs of Many Seasons," 
"John L. Motley" — a memoir, "The Iron 
Gate and Other Poems," "Ralph Waldo 
Emerson," "A Moral Antipathy." Dr. 
Holmes visited England for the second time, 
and while there the degree of LL.D. 
was conferred upon him by the University 
of Edinburgh. His death occurred October 
7. 1894- 

RUFUS CHOATE, one of the most em- 
inent of America's great lawyers, was 
born October i, 1799, at Essex, Massachu- 
setts. He entered Dartmouth in 18 15, 
and after taking his degree he remained as 
a teacher in the college for one year. He 
took up the study of law in Cambridge, and 
subsequently studied under the distinguished 
lawyer, Mr. Wirt, who was then United 
States attorney-general at Washington. Mr. 
Choatebegan the practice of law in Danvers, 
Massachusetts, and from there he went to 
Salem, and afterwards to Boston, Massa- 
chusetts. While living at Salem he was 
elected to congress in 1832, and later, in 
1841, he was chosen United States senator 
to succeed Daniel Webster, Mr. Webster 
having been appointed secretary of slate 
under William Henry Harrison. 

After the death of Webster, Mr. Choate 



was the acknowledged leader of the Massa- 
chusetts bar, and was looked upon by the 
younger members of the profession with an 
affection that almost amounted to a rever- 
ence. Mr. Choate's powers as an orator 
were of the rarest order, and his genius 
made it possible for him to enchant and in- 
terest his listeners, even while discussing the 
most ordinary theme. He was not merely 
eloquent on the subjects that were calculated 
to touch the feelings and stir the passions 
of his audience in themselves, but could at 
all times command their attention. He re- 
tired from active life in 1858, and was on 
his way to Europe, his physician having 
ordered a sea voyage for his health, but had 
only reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, when 
he died, July 13, 1858. 



D WIGHT L. MOODY, one of the most 
noted and effective pulpit orators and 
evangelists America has produced, was born 
in Northfield, Franklin county, Massachu- 
setts, February 5, 1837. He received but 
a meager education and worked on a farm 
until seventeen years of age, when he be- 
came clerk in a boot and shoe store in 
Boston. Soon after this he joined the Con- 
gregational church and went to Chicago, 
where he zealously engaged in missionary 
work among the poor classes. He met 
with great success, and in less than a year 
he built up a Sunday-school which numbered 
over one thousand children. When the 
war broke out he became connected with 
what was known as the "Christian Com- 
mission," and later became city missionary 
of the Young Men's Christian Association at 
Chicago. A church was built there for his 
converts and he became its unordained pas- 
tor. In the Chicago fire of 1S71 the church 
and Mr. Moody's house and furniture, which 
had been given him, were destroyed. The 



208 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



church edifice was afterward replaced by a 
new church erected on the site of the old 
one. In 1873, accompanied by Ira D. 
Sankey, Mr. Moody went to Europe and 
excited great religious awakenings through- 
out England, Ireland and Scotland. In 
1875 they returned to America and held 
large meetings in various cities. They 
afterward made another visit to Great 
Britain for the same purpose, meeting with 
great success, returning to the United States 
in 1884. Mr. Moody afterward continued 
his evangelistic work, meeting everywhere 
with a warm reception and success. Mr. 
Moody produced a number of works, some 
of which had a wide circulation. 



JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN, a financier 
of world-wide reputation, and famous 
as the head of one of the largest banking 
houses in the world, was born April 17, 
1837, at Hartford, Connecticut. He re- 
ceived his early education in the English 
high school, in Boston, and later supple- 
mented this with a course in the University 
of Gattingen, Germany. He returned to 
the United States, in 1857, and entered the 
banking firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co., 
of New York, and, in i860, he became 
agent and attorney, in the United States, for 
George Peabody & Co., of London. He 
became the junior partner in the banking 
firm of Dabney, Morgan & Co., in 1864, 
and that of Drexel, Morgan & Co., in 1871. 
This house was among the chief negotiators 
of railroad bonds, and was active in the re- 
organization of the West Shore Railroad, 
and its absorption by the New York Central 
Railroad. It was conspicuous in the re- 
organization of the Philadelphia & Read- 
ing Railroad, in 1887, which a syndicate of 
capitalists, formed by Mr. Morgan, placed 
on a sound financial basis. After that time 



many other lines of railroad and gigantic 
financial enterprises were brought under Mr. 
Morgan's control, and in some respects it 
may be said he became the foremost financier 
of the century. 



THOMAS BRACKETT REED, one of 
the most eminent of American states- 
men, was born October 18, 1839, at Port- 
land, Maine, where he received his early 
education in the common schools of the 
city, and prepared himself for college. Mr. 
Reed graduated from Bowdoin College in 
i860, and won one of the highest honors of 
the college, the prize for excellence in Eng- 
lish composition. The following four years 
were spent by him in teaching and in the 
study of law. Before his admission to the 
bar, however, he was acting assistant pay- 
master in the United States navy, and 
served on the " tin-clad" Sybil, which pa- 
trolled the Tennessee, Cumberland and 
Mississippi rivers. After his discharge in 
1865, he returned to Portland, was admit- 
ted to the bar, and began the practice of his 
profession. He entered into political life, 
and in 1868 was elected to the legislature 
of Maine as a Republican, and in 1869 he 
was re-elected to the house, and in 1870 
was made state senator, from which he 
passed to attorney-general of the state. 
He retired from this office in 1873, and 
until. 1877 he was solicitor for the city 
of Portland. In 1876 he was elected to 
the forty-fifth congress, which assembled 
in 1877. Mr. Reed sprung into prominence 
in that body by one of the first speeches 
which he delivered, and his long service in 
congress, coupled with his ability, gave him 
a national reputation. His influence each 
year became more strongly marked, and the 
leadership of his party was finally conceded 
to him, and in the forty-ninth and fiftieth 



COMPEXD/i'M OF BIOGRAPHY. 



209 



congresses the complimentary nomination 
for tiie speakership was tendered him by the 
Republicans. That party having obtained 
the ascendency in the fifty-first congress he 
was elected speaker on the first ballot, and 
he was again chosen speaker of the fifty- 
fourth and fifth-fifth congresses. As a 
writer, Mr. Reed contributed largely to the 
magazines and periodicals, and his book 
upon parliamentary rules is generally rec- 
ognized as authority on that subject. 



CLARA BARTON is a celebrated char- 
acter among what might be termed as 
the highest grade of philanthropists Amer- 
ica has produced. She was born on a farm 
at Oxford, Massachusetts, a daughter of 
Captain Stephen Barton, and was educated 
at Clinton, New York. She engaged in 
teaching early in life, and founded a free 
school at Bordentown, the first in New Jer- 
sey. She opened with six pupils, but the 
attendance had grown to six hundred up to 
1854, when she went to Washington. She 
was appointed clerk in the patent depart- 
ment, and remained there until the out- 
break of the Civil war, when she resigned 
her position and devoted herself to the al- 
leviation of the sufferings of the soldiers, 
serving, not in the hospitals, but on the bat- 
tle field. She was present at a number of 
battles, and after the war closed she origi- 
nated, and for some time carried on at her 
own expense, the search for missing soldiers. 
She then for several years devoted her time 
to lecturing on "Incidents of the War." 
About 1868 she went to Europe for her 
health, and settled in Switzerland, but on the 
outbreak of the F"ranco-German war she ac- 
cepted the invitation of the grand duchess 
of Baden to aid in the establishment of her 
hospitals, and Miss Barton afterward fol- 
lowed the German army She was deco- 



rated with the golden cross by the grand 
duke of Baden, and with the iron cross by 
the emperor of Germany. She also served 
for many years as president of the famous 
Red Cross Society and attained a world- 
wide reputation. 



CARDINAL JAMES GIBBONS, one of 
the most eminent Catholic clergymen 
in America, was born in Baltimore, Mary- 
land, July 23, 1834. He was given a 
thorough education, graduated at St. Charles 
College, Maryland, in 1857, and studied 
theology in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, 
Maryland. In 1861 he became pastor of 
St. Bridget's church in Baltimore, and in 
1868 was consecrated vicar apostolic of 
North Carolina. In 1872 our subject be- 
came bishop of Richmond, Virginia, and 
five years later was made archbishop of Bal- 
timore. On the 30th of June, 1886, he 
was admitted to the full degree of cardmal 
and primate of the American Catholic 
church. He was a fluent writer, and his 
book, "Faith of Our Fathers," had a wide 
circulation. 

CHAUNCEY MITCHELL DEPEW.— 
This name is, without doubt, one of 
the most widely known in the United States. 
Mr. Depew was born April 23, 1834, at 
Peekskill, New York, the home of the Depew 
family for two hundred yea^s. He attended 
the common schools of his native place, 
where he prepared himself to enter college. 
He began his collegiate course at Yale at 
the age of eighteen and graduated in 1856. 
He early took an active interest in politics 
and joined the Republican party at its for- 
mation. He then took up the study of law 
and went into the office of the Hon. Will- 
iam Nelson, of Peekskill, for that purpose, 
and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar. 



210 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



He was sent as a delegate by the new party 
to the Republican state convention of that 
year. He began the practice of his profes- 
sion in 1859, but though he was a good 
worker, his attention was detracted by the 
campaign of i860, in which he took an act- 
ive part. During this campaign he gained 
his first laurels as a public speaker. Mr. 
Depew was elected assemblyman in 1862 
from a Democratic district. In 1863 he se- 
cured the nomination for secretary of state, 
and gained that post by a majority of thirty 
thousand. In 1866 he left the field of pol- 
itics and entered into the active practice 
of his law business as attorney for the 
New York & Harlem Railroad Company, 
and in 1869 when this road was consoli- 
dated with the New York Central, and 
called the New York Central & Hudson 
River Railroad, he was appointed the attor- 
ney for the new road. His rise in the rail- 
road business was rapid, and ten years after 
his entrance into the Vanderbilt system as 
attorney for a single line, he was the gen- 
eral counsel for one of the largest railroad 
systems in the world. He was also a 
director in the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern, Michigan Central, Chicago & 
Northwestern, St. Paul & Omaha, West 
Shore, and Nickel Plate railroad companies. 
In 1874 Mr. Depew was made regent of 
the State University, and a member of the 
commission appointed to superintend the 
erection of the capitol at Albany. In 1882, 
on the resignation of W. H. Vanderbilt 
from the presidency of the New York Cen- 
tral and the accession to that office by 
James H. Rutter, Mr. Depew was made 
second vice-president, and held that posi- 
tion until the death of Mr. Rutter in 1885. 
In this year Mr. Depew became the execu- 
tive head of this great corporation. Mr. 
Depew's greatest fame grew from his ability 



and eloquence as an orator and "after-din- 
ner speaker," and it has been said by emi- 
nent critics that this country has never pro- 
duced his equal in wit, fluency and eloquence. 



PHILIP KEARNEY.— Among the most 
dashing and brilliant commanders in 
the United States service, few have outshone 
the talented officer whose name heads this 
sketch. He was born in New York City, 
June 2, 1815, and was of Irish ancestry and 
imbued with all the dash and bravery of the 
Celtic race. He graduated from Columbia 
College and studied law, but in 1837 ac- 
cepted a commission as lieutenant in the 
First United States Dragoons, of which his 
uncle, Stephen W. Kearney, was then colo- 
nel. He was sent by the government, 
soon after, to Europe to examine and report 
upon the tactics of the French cavalry. 
There he attended the Polytechnic School, 
at Sarnur, and subsequently served as a vol- 
unteer in Algiers, winning the cross of the 
Legion of Honor. He returned to the 
United States in 1840, and on the staff of 
General Scott, in the Mexican war, served 
with great gallantry. He was made a cap- 
tain of dragoons in 1846 and made major 
for services at Contreras and Cherubusco. 
In the final assault on the City of Mexico, 
at the San Antonio Gate, Kearney lost an 
arm. He subsequently served in California 
and the Pacific coast. In 1851 he resigned 
his commission and went to Europe, where 
he resumed his military studies. In the 
Italian war, in 1859, he served as a volun- 
teer on the staff of General Maurier, of the 
French army, and took part in the battles 
of Solferino and Magenta, and for bravery 
was, for the second time, decorated with 
the cross of the Legion of Honor. On the 
opening of the Civil war he hastened home, 
and, offering his services to the general gov- 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



211 



ernment, was made brigadier-general of 
volunteers and placed in command of a bri- 
gade of New Jersey troops. In the cam- 
paign under McClellan he commanded a di- 
vision, and at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks 
his services were valuable and brilliant, as 
well as in subsequent engagements. At 
Harrison's Landing he was made major-gen- 
eral of volunteers. In the second battle of 
Bull Run he was conspicuous, and at the 
battle of Chantilly, September i, 1862, 
while leading in advance of his troops. Gen- 
eral Kearney was shot and killed. 



RUSSELL SAGE, one of the financial 
giants of the present century and for 
more than an average generation one of the 
most conspicuous and celebrated of Ameri- 
cans, was born in a frontier hamlet in cen- 
tral New York in August, 18 16. While Rus- 
sell was still a boy an elder brother, Henry 
Risley Sage, established a small grocery 
store at Troy, New York, and here Russell 
found his first employment, as errand boy. 
He served a five-years apprenticeship, and 
then joined another brother, Elisha M. Sage, 
in a new venture in the same line, which 
proved profitable, at least for Russell, who 
soon became its sole owner. Next he 
formed the partnership of Sage & Bates, 
and greatly extended his field of operations. 
At twenty-five he had, by his own exertions, 
amassed what was, in those days, a consid- 
erable fortune, being worth about seventy- 
five thousand dollars. He had acquired an 
influence in local politics, and four years 
later his party, the Whigs, elected him to 
the aldermanic board of Troy and to the 
treasuryship of Rensselaer county. In 1 848 
he was a prominent member of the New 
York delegation to the Whig convention at 
Philadelphia, casting his first votes for Henry 
Clay, but joining the "stampede" which 



nominated Zachary Taylor. In 1850 the 
Whigs of Troy nominated him for congress, 
but he was not elected — a failure which he 
retrieved two years later, and in 1854 he 
was re-elected by a sweeping majority. At 
Washington he ranked high in influence and 
ability. Fame as a speaker and as a polit- 
ical leader was within his grasp, when he 
gave up public life, declined a renomination 
to congress, and went back to Troy to de- 
vote himself to his private business. Six 
years later, in 1863, he removed to New 
York and plunged into the arena of Wall 
street. A man of boundless energy and 
tireless pertinacity, with wonderful judg- 
ment of men and things, he soon took his 
place as a king in finance, and, it is said, 
during the latter part of his life he con- 
trolled more ready money than any other 
single individual on this continent. 



ROGER QUARLES MILLS, a noted 
United States senator and famous as the 
father of the "Mills tariff bill, "was born 
in Todd county, Kentucky, March 30, 1832. 
He received a liberal education in the com- 
mon schools, and removed to Palestine, 
Texas, in 1849. He took up the study of 
law, and supported himself by serving as an 
assistant in the post-office, and in the offices 
of the court clerks. In 1850 he was elected 
engrossing clerk of the Texas house of rep- 
resentatives, and in 1852 was admitted to 
the bar, while still a minor, by special act 
of the legislature. He then settled at Cor- 
sicana, Texas, and began the active prac- 
tice of his profession. He was elected to 
the state legislature in 1859, and in 1872 he 
was elected to congress from the state at 
large, as a Democrat. After his first elec- 
tion he was continuously returned to con- 
gress until he resigned to accept the posi- 
tion of United States senator, to which he 



212 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



was elected March 23, 1892, to succeed 
Hon. Horace Chilton. He took his seat in 
the senate March 30, 1892; was afterward 
re-elected and ranked among the most use- 
ful and prominent members of that body. 
In 1876 he opposed the creation of the elec- 
toral commission, and in 1887 canvassed 
the state of Texas against the adoption of 
a prohibition amendment to its constitution, 
which was defeated. He introduced into 
the house of representatives the bill that was 
known as the "Mills Bill," reducing duties 
on imports, and extending the free list. 
The bill passed the house on July 21, 1888, 
and made the name of "Mills" famous 
throughout the entire country. 



HAZEN S. PINGREE, the celebrated 
Michigan political leader, was born in 
Maine in 1842. Up to fourteen years of 
age he worked hard on the stony ground of 
his father's small farm. Attending school 
in the winter, he gained a fair education, 
and when not laboring on the farm, he 
found employment in the cotton mills in the 
vicinity. He resolved to find more steady 
work, and accordingly went to Hopkinton, 
Massachusetts, where he entered a shoe fac- 
tory, but on the outbreak of the war he en- 
listed at once and was enrolled in the First 
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He partici- 
pated in the battle of Bull Run, which was 
his initial fight, and served creditably his 
early term of service, at the expiration of 
which he re-enlisted. He fought in the 
battles of Fredricksburg, Harris Farm, 
Spottsylvania Court House and Cold Har- 
bor. In 1864 he was captured by Mosby, 
and spent five months at Andersonville, 
Georgia, as a prisoner, but escaped at the 
end of that time. He re-entered the service 
and participated in the battles of Fort 
Fisher, Boyden, and Sailor's Creek. He 



was honorably mustered out of service, and 
in 1866 went to Detroit, Michigan, where 
he made use of his former experience in a 
shoe factory, and found work. Later he 
formed a partnership with another workman 
and started a small factory, which has since 
become a large establishment. Mr. Pin- 
gree made his entrance into politics in 1889, 
in which year he was elected by a surpris- 
ingly large majority as a Republican to the 
mayoralty of Detroit, in which office he was 
the incumbent during four consecutive terms. 
In November, 1896, he was elected gov- 
ernor of the state of Michigan. While 
mayor of Detroit, Mr. Pingree originated 
and put into execution the idea of allowing 
the poor people of the city the use of va- 
cant city lands and lots for the purpose of 
raising potatoes. The idea was enthusiast- 
ically adopted by thousands of poor families, 
attracted wide attention, and gave its author 
a national reputation as "Potato-patch Pin- 
gree." 

THOMAS ANDREW HENDRICKS, an 
eminent American statesman and a 
Democratic politician of national fame, was 
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, Septem- 
ber 7, 1S19. In 1822 he removed, with his 
father, to Shelby county, Itjdiana. He 
graduated from the South Hanover College 
in 1 841, and two years later was admitted 
to the bar. In 185 1 he was chosen a mem- 
ber of the state constitutional convention, 
and took a leading part in the deliberations 
of that body. He was elected to congress 
in 1 85 1, and after serving two terms was 
appointed commissioner of the United States 
general land-office. In 1863 he was elected 
to the United States senate, where his dis- 
tinguished services commanded the respect 
of all parties. He was elected governor of 
Indiana in 1872, serving four years, and in 



COMPENDICM OF BIOGRAPHY 



218 



1876 was nominated by the Democrats as 
candidate for the vice-presidency with Til- 
den. The returns in a number of states 
were contested, and resulted in the appoint- 
ment of the famous electoral commission, 
which decided in favor of the Republican 
candidates. In 1884 Mr. Hendricks was 
again nominated as candidate for the vice- 
presidency, by the Democratic party, on the 
ticket with Grover Cleveland, was elected, 
and served about six months. He died at 
Indianapolis, November 25, 1885. He was 
regarded as one of the brainiest men in the 
party, and his integrity was never ques- 
tioned, even by his political opponents. 

GARRETT A. HOBART. one of the 
many able men who have held the 
high office of vice-president of the United 
States, was born June 3, 1844, in Mon- 
mouth county. New Jersey, and in i860 en- 
tered the sophomore class at Rutgers Col- 
lege, from which he graduated in 1863 at 
the age of nineteen. He then taught 
school until he entered the law office of 
Socrates Tuttle, of Paterson, New Jersey, 
with whom he studied law. and in 1869 
was admitted to the bar. He immediately 
began the active practice of his profession 
in the office of the above named gentleman. 
He became interested in political life, and 
espoused the cause of the Republican party, 
and in 1S65 held his first office, serving as 
clerk for the grand jury. He was also city 
counsel of Paterson in 1871, and in May, 
1872, was elected counsel for the board of 
chosen freeholders. He entered the state 
legislature in 1873, and was re-elected to 
the assembly in 1874. Mr. Hobart was 
made speaker of the assembly in 1876, and 
and in 1879 was elected to the state senate. 
After serving three years in the same, he 
was elected president of that body in 1881, 



and the following year was re-elected to 
that office. He was a detegate-at-large to 
the Republican national convention in 1876 
and 1880, and was elected a member of the 
national committee in 1884, which pos'tion 
he occupied continuously until 1896. He 
was then nominated for vice-president by 
the Republican national convention, anr" 
was elected to that office in the fall of 1896 
on the ticket with William McKinley. 

WILLIAM MORRIS STEWART, noted 
as a political leader and senator, was 
born in Lyons, Wayne county. New York, 
August 9, 1827, and removed with his par- 
ents while still a small child to Mesopota- 
mia township, Trumbull county, Ohio. He 
attended the Lyons Union school and Farm- 
ington Academy, where he obtained his ed- 
ucation. Later he taught mathematics in 
the former school, while yet a pupil, and 
with the little money thus earned and the 
assistance of James C. Smith, one of the 
judges of the supreme court of New York, 
he entered Yale College. He remained 
there until the winter of 1849-50, when, at- 
tracted by the gold discoveries in California 
he wended his way thither. He arrived at 
San Francisco in May, 1850, and later en- 
gaged in mining with pick and shovel in Ne- 
vada county. In this way he accumulated 
some money, and in the spring of 1852 he 
took up the study of law under John R. 
McConnell. The following December he 
was appointed district attorney, to which 
office he was chosen at the general election 
of the next year. In 1854 he was ap- 
pointed attorney-general of California, and 
in i860 he removed to Virginia City, Ne- 
vada, where he largely engaged in early 
mining litigation. Mr. Stewart was also in- 
terested in the development of the "Com- 
stock lode," and in 1861 was chosen a 



214 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



member of the territorial council. He was 
elected a member of tfie constitutional con- 
vention in 1863, and was elected United 
States senator in 1864, and re-elected in 
1869. At the expiration of his term in 
1875, he resumed the practice of law in 
Nevada, California, and the Pacific coast 
generally. He was thus engaged when he 
was elected again to the United States sen- 
ate as a Republican in 1887 to succeed the 
late James G. Fair, a Democrat, and took 
his seat March 4, 1887. On the expiration 
of his term he was again re-elected and be- 
came one of the leaders of his party in con- 
gress. His ability as an orator, and the 
prominent part he took in the discussion of 
public questions, gained him a national rep- 
utation. 



GEORGE GRAHAM VEST, for many 
years a prominent member of the 
United States senate, was born in Frank- 
fort, Kentucky, December 6, 1848. He 
graduated from Center College in 1868, and 
from the law department of the Transyl- 
vania University of Lexington, Kentucky, 
in 1853. In the same year he removed to 
Missouri and began the practice of his pro- 
fession, In 1 860 he was an elector on the 
Democratic ticket, and was a member of 
the lower house of the Missouri legislature 
in 1860-61. He was elected to the Con- 
federate congress, serving two years in the 
lower house and one in the senate. He 
then resumed the practice of law, and in 
1879 was elected to the senate of the United 
States to succeed James Shields. He was 
re-elected in 1885, and again in 1891 and 
1897. His many years of service in the 
National congress, coupled with his ability 
as a speaker and the active part he took in 
the discussion of public questions, gave him 
a wide reputation. 



HANNIBAL HAMLIN, a noted American 
statesman, whose name is indissolubly 
connected with the history of this country, 
was born in Paris, Maine, August 27, 1809. 
He learned the printer's trade and followed 
that calling for several years. He then 
studied law, and was admitted to practice 
in 1833. He was elected to the legislature 
of the state of Maine, where he was several 
times chosen speaker of the lower house. 
He was elected to congress by the Demo- 
crats in 1843, and re-elected in 1845. In 
1848 he was chosen to the United States 
senate and served in that body until 1861. 
He was elected governor of Maine in 1857 
on the Republican ticket, but resigned when 
re-elected to the United States senate 
the same year. He was elected vice-presi- 
dent of the United States on the ticket with 
Lincoln in i860, and inaugurated in March, 
1 861. In 1865 he was appointed collector 
of the port of Boston. Beginning with 
1869 he served two six-year terms in the 
United States senate, and was then ap- 
pointed by President Garfield as minister to 
Spain in 1881. His death occurred July 4, 



TSHAM G. HARRIS, famous as Confed- 
1 erate war governor of Tennessee, and 
distinguished by his twenty years of service 
in the senate of the United States, was 
born in Franklin county, Tennessee, and 
educated at the Academy of Winchester. 
He then took up the study of law, was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and commenced practice 
at Paris, Tennessee, in 1841. He was 
elected to the state legislature in 1847, was 
a candidate for presidential elector on the 
Democratic ticket in 1848, and the next 
year was elected to congress from his dis- 
trict, and re-elected in 185 1. In 1853 he 
was renominated by the Democrats of his 



COMTENDIUM OF BIOGRAPJir. 



215 



district, but declined, and removed to Mem- 
phis, where he took up the practice of law. 
He was a presidential elector-at-large from 
Tennessee in 1856, and was elected gov- 
ernor of the state the next year, and again 
in 1859, and in 1861. He was driven from 
Nashville by the advance of the Union 
armies, and for the last three years of the 
war acted as aid upon the staff of the com- 
manding general of the Confederate army 
of Tennessee. After the war he went to 
Liverpool, England, where he became a 
merchant, but returned to Memphis in 1867, 
and resumed the practice of law. In 1877 
he was elected to the United States senate, 
to which position he was successively re- 
elected until his death in 1897. 



NELSON DINGLEY, Jr., for nearly a 
quarter of a century one of the leaders 
in congress and framer of the famous 
" Dingley tariff bill," was born in Durham, 
Maine, in 1832. His father as well as all 
his ancestors, were farmers, merchants and 
mechanics and of English descent. Young 
Dingley was given the advantages first of 
the common schools and in vacations helped 
his father in the store and on the farm. 
When twelve years of age he attended high 
school and at seventeen was teaching in a 
country school district and preparing him- 
self for college. The following year he en- 
tered Waterville Academy and in 1851 en- 
tered Colby University. After a year and a 
half in this institution he entered Dart- 
mouth College and was graduated in 1855 
with high rank as a scholar, debater and 
writer. He next studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1856. But instead of 
practicing his profession he purchased the 
" Lewistown (Me.) Journal," which be- 
came famous throughout the New England 
states as a leader in the advocacy of Repub- 



lican principles. About the same time Mr. 
Dingley began his political career, although 
ever after continuing at the head of the 
newspaper. He was soon elected to the 
state legislature and afterward to the lower 
house of congress, where he became a 
prominent national character. He also 
served two terms as governor of Maine. 



OLIVER PERRY MORTON, a distin- 
guished American statesman, was born 
in Wayne county, Indiana, August 4, 1823. 
His early education was by private teaching 
and a course at the Wayne County Seminary. 
At the age of twenty years he entered the 
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and at 
the end of two years quit the college, began 
the study of law in the office of John New- 
man, of Centerville, Indiana, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1847. 

Mr. Morton was elected judge on the 
Democratic ticket, in 1852, but on tht 
passage of the " Kansas-Nebraska Bill " he 
severed his connection with that party, and 
soon became a prominent leader of the Re- 
publicans. He was elected governor of In- 
diana in 1 86 1, and as war governor became 
well known throughout the country. He 
received a paralytic stroke in 1865, which 
partially deprived him of the use of his 
limbs. He was chosen to the United States 
senate from Indiana, in 1867, and wielded 
great influence in that body until the time 
of his death, November i, 1877. 



JOHN B. GORDON, a brilliant Confeder- 
ate officer and noted senator of the United 
States, was born in Upson county, Georgia, 
February 6, 1832. He graduated from the 
State University, studied law, and took up 
the practice of his profession. At the be- 
ginning of the war he entered the Confederate 
service as captain of infantry, and rapidly 



216 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY. 



rose to the rank of lieutenant-general, 
commanding one wing of the Confederate 
army at the close of the war. In 1868 he 
was Democratic candidate for governor of 
Georgia, and it is said was elected by a large 
majority, but his opponent was given the 
office. He was a delegate to the national 
Democratic conventions in 1868 and 1872, 
and a presidential elector both years. In 
1873 he was elected to the United States 
senate. In 1886 he was elected governor 
of Georgia, and re-elected in 1888. He 
was again elected to the United States 
senate in 1890, serving until 1897, when he 
was succeeded by A. S. Clay. He was 
regarded as a leader of the southern Democ- 
racy, and noted for his fiery eloquence. 



STEPHEN JOHNSON FIELD, an illus- 
trious associate justice of the supreme 
court of the United States, was born at 
Haddam, Connecticut, November 4, 1S16, 
being one of the noted sons of Rev. D. 
D. Field. He graduated from Williams 
College in 1837. took up the study of law 
with his brother, David Dudley Field, be- 
coming his partner upon admission to the 
bar. He went to California in 1849, and at 
once began to take an active interest in the 
political affairs of that state. He was 
elected alcalde of Marysville, in 1850, and 
in the autumn of the same year was elected 
to the state legislature. In 1857 he was 
elected judge of the supreme court of the 
state, and two years afterwards became its 
chief justice. In 1863 he was appointed by 
President Lincoln as associate justice of the 
supreme court of the United States. During 
his incumbency, in 1873, he was appointed 
by the governor of California one of a com- 
mission to examine the codes of the state 
and for the preparation of amendments to 
the same for submission to the legislature. 



In 1877 he was one of the famous electoral 
commission of fifteen members, and voted 
as one of the seven favoring the election of 
Tilden to the presidency. In 1880 a large 
portion of the Democratic party favored his 
nomination as candidate for the presidency. 
He retired in the fall of 1897, having 
served a greater number of years on the 
supreme bench than any of his associates or 
predecessors. Chief Justice Marshall coming 
ne.xt in length of service. 



JOHN T. MORGAN, whose services in 
the United States senate brought him 
into national prominence, was born in 
Athens, Tennessee, June 20, 1824. At the 
age of nine years he emigrated to Alabama, 
where he made his permanent home, and 
where he received an academic education. 
He then took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1845. He took a 
leading part in local politics, was a presi- 
dential elector in i860, casting his ballot 
for Breckenridge and Lane, and in 1861 
was a delegate to the state convention which 
passed the ordinance of secession. In May, 
of the same year, he joined the Confederate 
army as a private in Company I, Cahawba 
Rifles, and was soon after made major and 
then lieutenant-colonel ofthe Fifth Regiment. 
In 1862 he was commissioned colonel, and 
soon after made brigadier-general and as- 
signed to the command of a brigade in Vir- 
ginia. He resigned to join his old regiment 
whose colonel had been killed. He was 
soon afterward again made brigadier-gen- 
eral and' given command of the brigade that 
included his regiment. 

After the war he returned to the prac- 
tice of law, and continued it up to the time 
of his election to the United States senate, in 
1 877. He was a presidential elector in 1 876, 
and cast his vote for Tilden and Hendricks. 



COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHr. 



217 



He was re-elected to the senate in 1883, 
and again in 1889, and 1895. His speeches 
and the measures he introduced, marked 
as they were by an intense Americanism, 
brought him into national prominence. 



WILLIAM McKINLEY,the twenty-fifth 
president of the United States, was 
born at Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan- 
uary 29, 1844. He was of Scotch-Irish 
ancestry, and received his early education 
in a Methodist academy in the small village 
of Poland, Ohio. At the outbreak of the 
war Mr. McKinley was teaching school, 
earning twenty-five dollars per month. As 
soon as Fort Sumter was fired upon he en- 
listed in a company that was formed in 
Poland, which was inspected and mustered 
in by General John C. Fremont, who at 
first objected to Mr. McKinley, as being too 
young, but upon e.xamination he was finally 
accepted. Mr. McKinley was seventeen 
when the war broke out but did not look his 
age. He served in the Twenty-third Ohio 
Infantry throughout the war, was promoted 
from sergeant to captain, for good conduct 
on the field, and at the close of the war, 
for meritorious services, he was brevetted 
major. After leaving the army Major Mc- 
Kinley took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar, and in 1869 he took 
his initiation into politics, being elected pros- 
ecuting attorney of his county as a Republi- 
can, although the district was usually Demo- 
cratic. In 1 876 he was elected to congress, 
and in a call upon the President-elect, Mr. 
Hayes, to whom he went for advice upon the 
way he should shape his career, he was 
told that to achieve fame and success he 
must take one special line and stick to it. 
Mr. McKinley chose tariff legislation and 
he became an authority in regard to import 
duties. He was a member of congress for 



many years, became chairman of the ways 
and means committee, and later he advo- 
cated the famous tariff bill that bore his 
name, which was passed in 1890. In the 
next election the Republican party was 
overwhelmingly defeated through the coun- 
try, and the Democrats secured more than 
a two thirds majority in the lower house, 
and also had control of the senate, Mr. 
McKinley being defeated in his own district 
by a small majority. He was elected gov- 
ernor of Ohio in 1891 by a plurality of 
twenty-one thousand, five hundred and 
eleven, and two years later he was re-elected 
by the still greater plurality of eighty thou- 
sand, nine hundred and ninety-five. He was 
a delegate-at-large to the Minneapolis Re^ 
publican convention in 1892, and was in- 
structed to support the nomination of Mr. 
Harrison. He was chairman of the con- 
vention, and was the only man from Ohio 
to vote for Mr. Harrison upon the roll call. 
In November, 1892, a number of prominent 
politicians gathered in New York to discuss 
the political situation, and decided that the 
result of the election had put an end to Mc- 
Kinley and McKinleyism. But in less than 
four years from that date Mr. McKinley was 
nominated for the presidency against the 
combined opposition of half a dozen rival 
candidates. Much of the credit for his suc- 
cess was due to Mark A. Hanna, of Cleve- 
land, afterward chairman of the Republican 
national committee. At the election which 
occurred in November, 1896, Mr. McKinley 
was elected president of the United States 
by an enormous majority, on a gold stand- 
ard and protective tariff platform. He was 
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1897, 
and called a special session of congress, to 
which was submitted a bill for tariff reform, 
which was passed in the latter part of July 
of that year. 



COMPENDIUM OF BTOGRAPHT. 



CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER, 
known in the literary world as Joaquin 
Miller, " the poet of the Sierras," was born 
at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841. When only 
about thirteen years of age he ran away 
from home and went to the mining regions 
in California and along the Pacific coast. 
Some time afterward he was taken prisoner 
by the Modoc Indians and lived with them 
for five years. He learned their language 
and gained great influence with them, fight- 
ing in their wars, and in all modes of living 
became as one of them. In 1858 he left 
the Indians and went to San Francisco, 
where he studied law, and in i860 was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Oregon. In 1866 he 
was elected a county judge in Oregon and 
served four years. Early in the seventies 
he began devoting a good deal of time to 
literary pursuits, and about 1874 he settled 
in Washington, D. C. He wrote many 
poems and dramas that attracted consider- 
able attention and won him an extended 
reputation. Among his productions may be 
mentioned " Pacific Poems," " Songs of the 
Sierras," "Songs of the Sun Lands," 
' ' Ships in the Desert, " ' ' Adrianne, a Dream 
of Italy," "Danites, " "Unwritten History," 
" First Families of the Sierras " (a novel), 
" One Fair Woman " (a novel), " Songs of 
Italy," "Shadows of Shasta," "The Gold- 
Seekers of the Sierras," and a number of 
others. 

GEORGE FREDERICK ROOT, a 
noted music publisher and composer, 
was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county, 
Massachusetts, on August 30, 1820. While 
working on his father's farm he found time 
to learn, unaided, several musical instru- 
ments, and in his eighteenth year he went 
to Boston, where he soon found employ- 
ment as a teacher of music. From 1839 



until 1844 he gave instructions in music in 
the public schools of that city, and was also 
director of music in two churches. Mr. 
Root then went to New York and taught 
music in the various educational institutions 
of the city. He went to Paris in 1850 and 
spent one year there in study, and on his re- 
turn he published his first song, "Hazel 
Dell." It appeared as the work of " Wur- 
zel," which was the German equivalent of 
his name. He was the originator of the 
normal musical institutions, and when the 
first one was started in New York he 
was one of the faculty. He removed to 
Chicago, Illinois, in i860, and established 
the firm of Root & Cady, and engaged in 
the publication of music. He received, in 
1872, the degree of "Doctor of Music" 
from the University of Chicago. After the 
war the firm became George F. Root & Co., 
of Cincinnati and Chicago. Mr. Root did 
much to elevate the standard of music in this 
country by his compositions and work as a 
teacher. Besides his numerous songs he 
wrote a great deal of sacred music and pub- 
lished many collections of vocal and instru- 
mental music. For many years he was the 
most popular song writer in America, and 
was one of the greatest song writers of the 
war. He is also well-known as an author, 
and his work in that line comprises: " Meth- 
ods for the Piano and Organ," " Hand- 
book on Harmony Teaching, " and innumer- 
able articles for the musical press. Among 
his many and most popular songs of the 
wartime are: " Rosalie, the Prairie-flower," 
" Battle Cry of Freedom," "Just Before the 
Battle," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys 
are Marching," ' ' The Old Folks are Gone, " 
"A Hundred Years Ago," "Old Potomac 
Shore, "and " There's Music in the Air." Mr. 
Root's cantatas include ' ' The Flower Queen" 
and "The Haymakers." He died in 1896. 



PART 



A GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 

OF 

Decatur County, 

INDIANA. 






) <\ 



•:vM 




<<J^2^L^<^ /^TU^U-l-^^^ 




^^^yi^^-^"^ 



Decatur County, 

INDIANA. 



SAMUEL M. STIMSON, D. D. 

This eminent divine, one of the most act- 
ive workers in the Baptist denomination, 
and well known throughout New York, 
Massachusetts. Indiana and many other 
states, passed to his rest. November 23, 
1894, his death coming as a personal loss to 
his associates in the ministry, as well as to 
hundreds who knew him through his pri- 
vate work. 

Rev. Samuel McElwain Stimson was 
born February 6, 1815, in Winchendon. 
Massachusetts, but during his boyhood ac- 
companied his parents on their removal to 
Lockport, New York. He pursued his 
studies in an academy and aftenvard en- 
gaged in teaching for a number of years. 
He united with the Baptist church in 1835. 
was licensed to preach in 1840, and was 
ordained to the full work of the ministry 
by the Shelby church, in New York, in 
1843. For half a century he was a preacher 
of the gospel and in 1890 celebrated the 
seventy-fifth anniversary of his birth, the 
fiftieth of his entrance into the ministry and 
the twenty-fifth of his residence in Indiana. 
During the twenty-five years of his ministry 
in the state of New York, he filled onlv 



three pastorates, those being at Bingham 
ton, Batavia and Pirighton. He was twice 
appointed pastor to the church at Batavia, 
being there eleven years in all, and severing 
his connection therewith in 1865 in order 
to accept the pastorate of the First Baptist 
church in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he 
remained for eight years. 

In 1873 Dr. Stimson became tlistrict sec- 
retary of the Baptist Missionary Union, 
which position he continued to fill until 
1893, — twenty years of active and earnest 
labor, in which his efforts resulted in great 
benefit to the society. In addition to his 
duties as secretary. Dr. Stimson made 
strenuous eflforts to secure the million dol- 
lars needed for foreign missionary work, 
and this he considered the crowning effort 
of his life. He was remarkably successful 
in collecting money for this purpose, and it 
remains for the written history of the 
church to tell how his labors and the influ- 
ences he set in motion have benefited and 
advanced the cause to which he so cheer- 
fully gave his time and talents. He was an 
ardent advocate of evangelistic work and 
took especial pains to seek out and assist 
needy and discouraged churches. He was 
a man of strong faith, of a hopeful disposi- 



224 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



tion and an untiring devotion to the cause 
of his Master, to whose service he conse- 
crated the best of his hfe. At the time of 
his death he was pastor of the church at 
Downeyville and was busily at work until a 
few days before the final summons came; 
then he peacefully fell asleep, happy in the 
consciousness of an earthly life well spent, 
and in the hope of life eternal. 

For many years Dr. Stimson was a 
prominent Mason, having attained the 
Royal Arch and Knight Templar degrees. 
In his early life he belonged to the state 
militia and was commissioned captain by 
Governor Clinton. His company was 
called out during the border wars with 
Canada and he rendered effective service to 
the country he loved. 

Dr. Stimson was three times married, his 
first wife being Miss Louise Richardson, of 
New York. By this union three children 
were born, only one of whom is living. His 
second wife was Mrs. Jane Davis, of Terre 
Haute. In 1890 he was again married. 
Miss Eusebia Craven becoming his wife. 
She was born near Greensburg, Indiana, 
and was educated in the Baptist Institute of 
Indianapolis, being graduated in that 
institution in the class of 1866, at the com- 
pletion of a four-years literary course. 
Subsequently she engaged in teaching for 
a short time. She has always been a prom- 
inent and active worker in the church, and 
has been secretary of the Woman's Baptist 
Missionary Society for the past twenty- 
three years. She is a lady of culture and 
refinement, has traveled extensively and 
devotes much of her time to doing good. 
Her husband found in her an able and will- 
ing helpmeet, and no one in the community 
is more esteemed or respected. She occu- 



pies a pleasant, old-fashioned home near 
Greensburg, surrounded by tall and stately 
trees, which Dr. Stimson named Cravinia 
Lodge, and in which his last years were 
passed in happy domestic relations. 

The parents of Mrs. Stimson were promi- 
nent citizens of Greensburg, and a brief 
sketch of their lives will be of interest to the 
readers of this volume. Herman James 
Craven was born in Oxford, Ohio, Decem- 
ber 10, 1815, his family being of English 
and Irish descent. Thomas Craven, the 
paternal grandfather, lived near Philadel- 
phia in colonial days, and with his two sons 
took an active part in the Revolutionary 
war. Thomas Craven, one of his sons, was 
born near Philadelphia, found his way west 
and from Pittsburg floated down the Ohio 
river on a flatboat, landing at Cincinnati, 
then a small village. From there he went 
to Franklin county, Indiana, where he re- 
mained a short time, after which he entered 
and settled upon a farm near Oxford, Ohio. 
He had been for many years a teacher and 
preacher, and when forty-five years of age 
entered Miami University, completing the 
course of study five years later. Dr. Scott, 
the father-in-law of ex-President Benjamin 
Harrison, was at that time a professor in 
the university. In his early life Mr. Craven 
adhered to the faith of the Presbyterian 
church, but afterward united with the Bap- 
tist denomination, aud to that church he 
devoted his earnest efforts for many years. 
He led a busy, useful life, being constantly 
engaged in doing good. He was an old- 
line Whig, with strong anti-slavery convic- 
tions, and the crowning act of his life was 
the founding of the Eleutherian College, in 
JefYerson county, Indiana, where students, 
without regard to race or color, could be 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



225 



educated together. He died at that place 
in i860, when sixty-eight years of age. His 
wife was Rebecca Selfridge, and they had 
ten children. 

Herman J. Craven, father of Mrs. Stim- 
son, was reared upon his father's farm, near 
Oxford, Ohio, and when thirty years of age 
removed to Decatur county, Indiana, and 
purchased a farm of more than two hundred 
acres, one mile southeast of Greensburg, on 
the old historic pike. This land had few or 
no improvements, but with the thrift and 
industry which characterized his entire life 
Mr. Craven began the task of clearing and 
cultivating the place and continued his 
efforts until it became a productive and 
valuable farm. He began life without 
capital, but acquired a handsome fortune 
and became an influential and honored citi- 
zen. In those days the labor that devolved 
upon the farmer was much greater than it 
is at present, from the fact that there were 
no railroads and all products of the soil 
had to be hauled by teams to market; and 
the nearest market to Mr. Craven was Cin- 
cinnati. 

Mr. Craven was very active in church 
work, both at Sand Creek and in Greens- 
burg, where he served for many years as 
deacon and in other official positions. He 
was a leader in and liberal supporter of all 
religious and philanthropic movements in 
the neighborhood. Like his father, and 
indeed all the members of his family, he 
was a pronounced anti-slavery man and was 
one of the most willing workers on the 
"underground railroad," a term scarcely 
understood by the present generation. By 
this arrangement slaves who escaped from 
their masters and were successful in reach- 
ing a free state were passed along at night 



from the home of one anti-slavery man to 
another until they could enter Canada, after 
which they were safe. It required a bold 
and courageous spirit to thus defy the law 
of the land and render oneself liable to its 
penalties by aiding the poor blacks; but 
Mr. Craven was fearless where right and 
duty to his fellow men were concerned, and 
many a poor, trembling fugitive had cause 
to bless him for his chance to become a free 
man. He did not live to see the downfall 
of slavery, his death occurring in 1856; but 
it was the never ceasing protest of such 
men as he that bore fruit in the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation. 

Mr. Craven was married to Nancy Mar- 
tin, who was born in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, near Cincinnati, and they became the 
parents of five children, but all died before 
reaching maturity with the exception of 
Mrs. Stimson. 



HON. S.\MUEL .\. BONNER. 

Greensburg has ud more prominent nor 
more highly esteemed citizen than Judge 
Bonner, who is now living retired from the 
busy scenes and activities which marked his 
former years. Nobly and conscientiously 
has he performed his part and filled his 
place in the wonderful century now draw- 
ing to a close, and in the evening-time of 
life the contentment and peace which come 
only to the victor in the battle rest upon 
him. 

Judge Bonner comes of the hardy, God- 
fearing Scotch-Irish stock, his ancestors 
having been earnest Presbyterians. To- 
ward the end of the eighteenth century his 
paternal grandfather came to .\merica, from 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



his former home in the northern part of 
Ireland, and, settHng upon a South Caro- 
lina plantation, spent the remainder of his 
days there. He had four sons and three 
daughters, of whom, James, father of Sam- 
uel A., was born near Anderson, South 
Carolina, and not far from the home of John 
C. Calhoun. He was reared in the vicinity 
of Abbeville, where he married Mary P. 
Foster, whose father, James Foster, born 
in the northern part of Ireland, became a 
farmer of South Carolina, whence he re- 
moved to Spring Hill, Indiana, about 1837, 
and died in this locality. About two years 
subsequent to his marriage James Bon- 
ner removed to Wilcox county, Alabama, 
where he dwelt for some sixteen years, own- 
ing and managing a large plantation, which, 
of course, was cultivated by slaves. He 
was a kind master, and hated the slavery 
system, — indeed, he eventually came to the 
north to escape from it. Having due re- 
gard for their feelings, he sold his slaves in 
a body to his brother, refusing to separate 
them, and his brother, according to their 
agreement, kept tliem together. He was a 
successful lousiness man, Ijeing considered 
quite rich in his day, and at one time owned 
several farms in this county. In the spring 
of 1836 he came to^ Decatur county and 
located in Fugit township, where he en- 
gaged in farming until his death, in 1844, 
when he was upward of fifty-five years of 
age. His beloved wife, Mary, died during 
the first year of the family's residence in this 
state, and he later wedded a Miss Weed. 
Like his father and relatives, he was a de- 
vout Presbyterian, and was an elder in the 
church. Politically he was a Whig, and in 
all public matters was actively interested, 
as becomes a patriot. 



Of the seven children born to James and 
Mary P. (Foster) Bonner, all but the eldest, 
James F., were natives of Alabama. He 
was born in South Carolina, and for years 
was numbered among the prosperous farm- 
ers of this county. He now resides in 
Greensburg, being engaged in the insur- 
ance business. John I. Bonner, D. D., 
pursued a literary course at Miami Univer- 
sity, and, after being graduated in the theo- 
logical seminary at Due West, South Caro- 
lina, turned his attention to teaching, and 
was president of Due West Female College 
for many years, and until his death, some 
fifteen years ago. He also edited a relig- 
ious paper, the organ of his denomination, 
and left the impress of his able mind upon 
his generation. William H., the next son, 
was a farmer in the neighborhood of Spring 
Hill, Indiana, until his death. Prominent 
in all public matters in that locality, he was 
chosen to represent the people in the legis- 
lature, serving with zeal and credit. In the 
United Presbyterian church he took a lead- 
ing part, and all worthy causes received his 
earnest support. Two sisters of our subject 
died in early womanhood, and Robert died 
in childhood. Walter, son of William H. 
Bonner, is the cashier of the Third National 
Bank, of this place. 

The birth of the Hon. Samuel A. Bonner 
occurred in Wilcox county, Alabama, De- 
cember 5, 1826, and he was a lad of nine 
years when the family came to this county. 
He attended the Spring Hill school and a 
private academy, and for two years pursued 
his studies at Richland, Indiana. Later, he 
matriculated in Miami University, at Ox- 
ford, Ohio, but left there in his junior year 
and went to Center College, Kentucky, where 
he was graduated in 1849. That winter he 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



227 



entered upon his legal career by entering 
the office of Judge Andrew Davison, after- 
ward supreme judge of the state of Indiana, 
and, having gained an idea of the founda- 
tion principles of the law, spent the winters 
of 1850-51 and 185 1-2 in the law depart- 
ment of the University of Indiana. Being 
granted a diploma in that institution, in 
1852, and admitted to practice before all 
the courts of the state, Mr. Bonner opened 
an office in Greensburg, in partnership with 
the late Barton W. \\'ilson. 

Rapidly coming to the front, known and 
admired by the people among whom he had 
dwelt from boyhood. Judge Bonner was 
elected by them to rejiresent them in the 
legislature, in 1854. and two years after- 
ward was further honored by being chosen 
to preside at the bench of the common- 
pleas courts of the eighth judicial district, 
comprising Decatur and Rush counties. 
He continued in that ofifice for the full term 
of four years, at the end of whicli time iie 
resumed his regular legal practice, this time 
alone, and it was not until the close of the 
civil war that his business connection with 
the Hon. William Cumback was entered 
upon. This prosperous partnership con- 
tinued in force until the appointment of Mr. 
Cumback to the position of collector of the 
internal revenues of the United States. 
Judge Bonner continuing the practice until 
1877, when he was elected to the judgeshi]) 
of the eighth circuit, including Rush. Deca- 
tur and I'Xvette counties. As such he acted 
for two terms of six years each, and at his 
re-election had no opposition practically, all 
being agreed that he was undoubtedly the 
best man for the place. In 1889 he formed 
a partnership with Messrs. Tackett and 
Bennett, and it was not until Xovember i, 



1895, ^Ii^t he finally retired from active 
practice. 

I'or many jears the Judge was city and 
county attorney, and also legal adviser of 
the Big Four Railroad and other important 
corporations. He has been well known for 
his spirit of progress and enterprise, his 
name, as associated with any new venture, 
proving to it a passport into the favor of the 
people. Since the organization of the 
Greensburg Gas & Electric Light Company 
he has been one of its directors, and is now 
its president; when the Third National 
Bank was founded he was a leader in the 
enterprise, and later was a director, and at 
present, and for the past three years, vice- 
president of the institution. In 1895 he 
was appointed a member of the board of 
trustees of the Deaf and Dumb Institute of 
the state, in 1897 was re-appointed by Gov- 
ernor Mount, and since 1896 has been the 
president of the board. About thirty years 
ago he was a member of the city council of 
Greensburg, and was influential in getting 
the first sidewalks laid here, as well as in 
securing other needed improvements. From 
his early manhood he has been a devoted 
adherent of the Rei)ublican party, and glor- 
ies in the wonderful era of prosperity which 
has come to this country since the war, 
through its beneficent policy. For more 
than three decades he has been an elder in 
the Presbyterian church, and upon four oc- 
casions was the delegate of this presbytery 
to the general assembly. He w^as honored 
especially by being appointed to act on a 
committee having in charge the theological 
seminaries, and held that appointment from 
1892 until 1896, dealing with all questions 
submitted to him with a tact and wisdom 
equaled by few men in the histor>- of the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



church. Thus, along almost every avenue 
of modern human endeavor, the Judge has 
played an important part, and played it hon- 
estly, in the love of God and of mankind. 
Needless to say that he has friends unnum- 
bered, and that his enemies, if perchance he 
has any, must concede that his life has been 
upright, just and beneficial, — a power for 
good in his community. 

The first marriage of Judge Bonner was 
to Ella M. Carter, of Salem county, Indiana, 
and was solemnized September i, 1852. 
She departed this life in 1861, leaving two 
daughters: Lizzie C. is the wife of Dr. J. M. 
Wampler, of Richmond, Indiana, and Min- 
nie E. is the wife of William L. Dechant, a 
prominent citizen and able lawyer of Mid- 
dletown, Ohio. On the 2d of August, 
1867, Mr. Bonner married Miss Abbie A. 
Snell, of Holbrook, Massachusetts. She is 
a graduate of Maplewood Institute, of Pitts- 
field, that state, and for years was a suc- 
cessful teacher in local schools and in Mis- 
sissippi and Greensburg. Of late years 
she has been a great and valued worker in 
the cause of home and foreign missions, and 
has been president of the Presbyterian or- 
ganization of that name for a long period. 
Like her husband, she is a sincere, practical 
philanthropist, devoted to noble Christian 
work. 



ISAIAH McCOY. 



The traveler or historian passing through 
Decatur county should not fail to call upon 
Isaiah McCoy, of Adams township, as un- 
questionably he is one of the oldest inhabit- 
ants, in years of continuous residence; and 
perhaps to him should be awarded the 
honor of having dwelt in this county longer 



than any other person. At any rate he has 
dwelt here for four-score years, and well 
remembers the long years of hardship and 
toil which he, in common with other mem- 
bers of his family, endured prior to the 
arrival of settlers in this locality. He is an 
exceedingly interesting converser. and one 
is held spellbound by the narration of the 
experiences of the venerable man, whose 
life began during the first war of the United 
States in this century and whose life is draw- 
ing to a close in these last days of the cen- 
tury, when another war for humanity has 
just rounded out this memorable cycle. 

William McCoy, father of our subject, 
was a native of Virginia, and as he was born 
about 1762 he was not old enough to be 
admitted to the continental army when the 
Declaration of Independence was pro- 
claimed. The youth possessed the true 
patriotic spirit, however, and in 1777 he 
enlisted and served in the ranks for five 
years, or until the colonists were triumph- 
ant. He participated in numerous hotly 
contested battles, and at Cowpens a bullet 
grazed his head, cutting a swath through 
his hair, while another bullet lodged in his 
hip. He continued to carry the British lead 
with him throughout life, and death did 
not claim him until he was eighty-four years 
old. Plucky and daring, he would not enter 
a hospital for treatment, but bore his suf- 
ferings with fortitude, and a splendid consti- 
tution carried him through the trouble. 
Having a strong love of adventure, which 
his army life had fostered, he shipped on 
board a sailing vessel, at the close of the 
war, and went to Africa, for the ship was 
engaged in the slave trade. One day, while 
he and a companion were on shore, the ship 
weighed anchor and sailed without them, 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



329 



and three long, dreadful months dragged 
by ere they were taken away by another 
vessel which stopped at that port. His ex- 
periences by that time had been sufficient 
to last him for the remainder of his life, and 
he returned to Virginia, where he settled 
down to the quiet routine of a farmer. He 
married and had seven children, and some 
time subsequent to the death of his first 
wife he wedded Nancy \\'ai)le. She de- 
parted this life in 1835, leaving six children. 
I^ater Mr. McCoy removed with his family 
to Kentucky, and in 18 19 came to Decatur 
county. Taking up a tract of wild land, he 
procecdcil to clear and improve it, and for 
a number of years he operated the Shell- 
horn mill, which was the first mill Iniilt in 
this county and which received the patron- 
age of the pioneers from quite distant 
places. While visiting his son in Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, he died quite suddenly, but 
his life-work had been well rounded and he 
was ready to receive the summons. 

Isaiah McCoy, who was born in Gallatin 
county, Kentucky, February 23, 1814, was 
five years of age when he came to this 
county, and now, eighty years afterward, he 
is living upon the same farm which has been 
the scene of his life work during this long 
period. Of his father's family of thirteen 
children he is now the only survivor, and 
with a sigh which cannot be restrained he 
often recalls the large and happy group that 
used to assemble around the table, which 
was frequently quite bare of provisions in 
the early days, but which, upon the other 
hand, sometimes groaned under the weight 
of wild turkeys, venison and other game, 
together with such delicacies as the thrifty 
housekeeper skillfully concocted. Corn 
cakes were used to a great extent, and sev- 



eral years passed after the arrival of the 
family in this county ere they enjoyed the 
luxury of white wheat bread. 

Needless to say, Isaiah McCoy had no 
educational advantages whatever, and years 
rolled away before there were enough chil- 
dren in this section of the township to con- 
stitute a small school. He was a strong lad, 
and at a very early age he was set to work 
at splitting rails for fences, and other tasks 
which required great strength and endur- 
ance. Probably there is no man living to- 
day in Decatur county who has made one- 
half as many rails as he. and the usual work 
of clearing also fell to his share. 

An important step in life was taken by 
Mr. McCoy when, on the 8th of November, 
1837, he married Mary Short, whose birth 
had occurred near Madison, Indiana. Janu- 
ary 8, 1816. The young couple were poor, 
but they energetically began farming on a 
rented place, and at the end of five or six 
years had saved about four hundred dollars, 
which they invested in eight)' acres of the 
place now owned by our subject. As he 
could afford it, he bought more ])roperty 
until he now has in the home ])lace some 
three hundred acres of valuable and well 
improved land. 

For fifty-four years Mr. and Mrs. McCoy 
pursued the journey of life together, and 
then the devoted wife and mother was sum- 
moned to the better land, her death occurr- 
ing May 6, 1 89 1. Of their seven children, 
all but one, Nancy V., survive. John Nel- 
son, born July 30, 1839, and Benjamin 
Franklin, born in April, 1842, were of great 
assistance to their father for years on the old 
homestead. Eliza Ellen, born July 12. 
1844; Julia F.. born November 22, 1847; 
Courtney Ann, born in September, 1850, 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



and Amanda Jane, born June lo, 1854, were 
the younger members of the family. 

In his poHtical behef Mr. McCoy is a Re- 
publican, and prior to the organization of 
this party he was affiliated with the Whigs, 
as was his father before him. His cheerful 
disposition and way of looking upon. the 
bright side of things are, in part, reasons 
for his popularity, and doubtless have con- 
duced to his length of days. 



HON. JAMES K. EWING. 

This able lawyer, who has often been 
called the Nestor of the Decatur county bar, 
has a widespread reputation throughout the 
state as a man thoroughly familiar with 
every detail of his profession, careful and 
just in the treatment of his clients, and one 
in whom the people have unbounded con- 
fidence. He was born in Decatur county, 
Indiana, November 23, 1843, and is a son of 
Patrick and Lydia (Morgan) Ewing. The 
history of the Ewing family will be found in 
the sketch of Putnam Ewing, on another 
page of this volume. 

Judge Ewing studied law under his 
brother, Cortez Ewing, and was admitted 
to the bar in November, 1867. In the same 
year he formed a partnership with his 
brother Cortez, now deceased, under the 
firm name of C. & J. K. Ewing, the first 
case of the firm being reported in volume 
32 of the supreme-court records. This 
partnership continued until 1883, when the 
senior member retired and Cortez, Jr.. the 
son of Abel Ewing, succeeded to his place. 
The latter is a leading attorney and ex-state 
.senator. His wife is the daughter of the 
late Governor Matthews of Indiana. The 



firm was known as Ewing & Ewing, and 
had a large and valuable practice until its 
dissolution, in 1893. In that year James K. 
Ewing was appointed judge of the eighth 
judicial district, holding that office until 
1895, when he resumed his private practice, 
associated with his nephew, Charles H. Ew- 
ing, the firm name again becoming Ewing 
& Ewing. 

Judge Ewing was a delegate to the na- 
tional Democratic convention in 1888, and 
usually attends all the state and national 
conventions. He is a member of the Deca- 
tur Lodge, No. 103, I. O. O. F. In Janu- 
ary. 1S90, he was married to Ida, daugh- 
ter of the late Dr. Samuel Maguire, a promi- 
nent physician of Greensburg. The family 
are prominent in all worthy enterprises and 
are most highly esteemed by their fellow 
citizens. 

Cortez Ewing, brother of our subject, 
and his former partner, was born in Decatur 
county, April 15, 1837. When only thir- 
teen years old he entered the office of Henry 
H. Talbott, clerk and ex-officio recorder, 
and filled the position of deputy clerk and 
recorder from 1850 to 1857. From 1857 
to 1858 he was a clerk in the general land 
office at Washington, D. C, under Thomas 
A. Hendricks, then commissioner of that 
office. He was admitted to the bar in 1858, 
in the Decatur circuit court, and in 1861-2 
was in the law office of Gavin & Hord, 
where, during the absence of Colonel James 
Gavin in the army, he assisted O. B. Hord 
in completing the revision of the laws of 
Indiana, the compilation being known as 
Gavin & Hord's Indiana Statutes. Later 
he became the partner of Oscar B. Hord, 
and the firm of Hord & Ewing continued 
until about 1868. In 1867 the firm of C. & 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



231 



J. K. Ewing was established, with which he 
was connected until 1883, when he aided in 
organizing the Third National Bank of 
Greensburg and was made its cashier, which 
office he held until his death, February 28, 
1887. He was married December 27, i860, 
to Elizabeth H. Matthews, and two children 
were born to them, Maggie, wife of George 
B. Stockman; and Oscar liord. 

Like all his family Mr. Ewing was a life- 
long Democrat and an active worker in the 
interest of his party, although not a poli- 
tician in the sense of being an office-seeker, 
the only official position he ever held being 
that of trustee of the Institute for the Edu- 
cation of the Blind, his term of service 
comprising four years, from 1874 to 1878. 
He was a man of superior ability and of a 
legal turn of mind, and was one of the lead- 
ing attorneys of the county. 



BENJAMIN GOSNELL. 

As is well known, the Gosnell family, 
which is represented in Clinton township, 
Decatur county, by the subject of this arti- 
cle, is one of the foremost of the pioneer 
families to whose heroism and indefatigable 
toil the present generation owes the major 
share of the prosperity it enjoys. The Gos- 
nells have been noted for patriotism and 
devotion to duty as citizens of this great 
republic, their personal interests being rele- 
gated to a secondary place when the wel- 
fare of their country demanded. 

Peter Gosnell, the founder of the family 
in the United States, came to America from 
England in colonial days, and his son Benja- 
min, in whose honor our subject was named, 
was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. 



Many a tale of valor and hardship has he 
related to his namesake, and in the course 
of time the memory of those heroic deeds 
of his ancestor impelled the younger man 
to follow in his illustrious footsteps. Prior 
to 1826 the family settled in Kentucky, and 
in the year named came to Indiana. The 
grandfather that year settled in Decatur 
county, and on Little Flat Rock creek, in 
what is now Adams township, and contin- 
ued to dwell there during the remainder of 
his life. In the meantime he cleared a good 
farm in the dense woods, and by his general 
conduct won the love of everyone who had 
any dealings whatever with him. ?Ie was 
married four times and was survived by his 
last wife, who, after his death, in 1846, went 
to Illinois to make her home with one of 
her sons, and died many years ago. Benja- 
min Gosnell. Sr., was the father of thirteen 
children, all of whom he lived to see com- 
fortably settled in life and happily married. 
Seven of the number are now deceased. 

Thomas Gosnell, father of our subject, 
w-as born in Virginia, February 5, 1798, 
and in 1826 came to this county with his 
father. The following year he married 
Hettie Porter, whose birth had occurred in 
Kentucky, in 1809, and who had come to 
this state with her parents about the same 
time as did the Gosnells. The young cou- 
ple commenced keeping house in Orange 
tow-nship. Rush county, but their happiness 
was of short duration, for upon the 15th of 
June. 1829, the husband was killed by light- 
ning, as he stood under a sheltering tree, 
whither he had gone for protection from a 
violent rain-stonn. Thus ended a life which 
was singularly full of promise, for he was 
endowed with natural talents and possessed 
a good education for those days. He had 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



chosen the occupation of teacher, and was 
especially well grounded in mathematics, 
besides being an exceptionally fine penman, 
as specimens of his work abundantly testify. 
His young wife, who was left with one child, 
our subject, afterward married Solomon 
Turpin. To them a daughter, Susan, was 
born, and when she had grown to woman- 
hood she became the wife of George Samp- 
son, and died in 1856. 

Born March 2, 1828, Benjamin Gosnell, 
of course, remembers nothing of his father, 
whose death occurred when the former was 
but fifteen months old. He was reared in 
Rush county, his birthplace, and on reach- 
ing man's estate chose for his wife a neigh- 
bor's daughter, Jane Farlow. She was a 
native of the same county, born October 7, 
1827, and her marriage to Mr. Gosnell took 
place on the 30th of September, 1849. To- 
gether they journeyed through life for al- 
most half a century, when, on the 9th of 
September, 1897, death claimed the loving 
wife and mother. Their son, Benjamin F., 
died at the age of twenty-six years, and two 
other children died in infancy. Four 
daughters survive, namely: Mrs. Lucinda 
Selby, Mrs. Louisa Wood, Mrs. Adeline 
Finley and Mrs. Sally Milligan. 

An important chapter in the life history 
of Benjamin Gosnell was his valiant service 
on behalf of the Union. In 1863 he en- 
listed as a private in Company D, One 
Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment of In- 
diana Volunteer Infantry. With his com- 
rades he took part in many of the important 
battles and campaigns of the war; was act- 
ing under the leadership of General Thomas 
at Nashville, when the Confederate army, 
under General Hood, was defeated by the 
Union forces, and later went with Sherman 



on the famous march to the sea. He was 
on the way to Washington, following the 
Atlantic coast, and had proceeded on the 
weary march as far as Raleigh, North Caro- 
lina, when the news came that Lee had 
surrendered. Since the war Mr. Gosnell 
has been an honored member of "Pap" 
Thomas Post, No. 5, G. A. R., of Greens- 
burg. 



MARINE D. ROSS. 



The name of Ross is inseparably inter- 
woven with the early history of Indiana, for 
its .representatives took an active part in 
molding the development and prosperity of 
the state through the pioneer days. The 
subject of this review was born in Ripley 
county, Indiana, April 21, 181 7, and was a 
son of John Ross, a native of Kentucky, 
who removed to Ripley county in the days 
of its early settlement. He was there em- 
ployed in the government service, guarding 
the frontier against the Indians, who were 
about to encroach upon the settlers. These 
brave and loyal men thus engaged were 
known as rangers. During this time Deca- 
tur county was opened for settlement, and 
Mr. Ross entered a tract of land three miles 
east of Greensburg, in 1821. He trans- 
formed the wild prairie into richly cultivated 
fields and made his home upon that farm 
for twenty years, but ultimately removed to 
Greensburg, where he conducted one of the 
old-time taverns, on the Michigan road. 
This was before the advent of railroads, and 
his hotel was a popular place of entertain- 
ment in this section of the county. To- 
ward the last of his life he removed to Rip- 
ley county, Indiana, where his last days 
were passed. Mr. Ross was three times 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



233 



married. He first wedded Mrs. De Vaul, 
and they became the parents of five daugh- 
ters and one son, the latter being our sub- 
ject. For his second wife the father chose 
Miss Cole, and they had one son, William 
Ross, who is living in Westport, Indiana. 
His third wife bore the name of Cynthia 
Mills, and after the death of her husband 
she was granted a pension by the govern- 
ment, in recognition of his services in 
guarding the western frontier against the 
Indians. 

Marine D. Ross was only four months 
old when his parents removed to the old 
family homestead east of Greensburg, and 
there he was reared to manhood. He ex- 
perienced all the hardships and trials that 
fail to the lot of the pioneer settlers and 
was early inured to the labors of the farm. 
After attaining his majority he began busi- 
ness on his own account, and was engaged 
in teaming l)etween Greensburg and Cin- 
cinnati. He was also one of the contract- 
ors on the Big Four Railroad, which was 
being constructed between Lawrenceburg 
and Indianapolis. In 1852 he resumed 
farming, which he followed in connection 
with stock dealing and the butchering 
liusiness. He became connected with 
the pork-packing industry and was the 
owner of a packing house, in which he em- 
ployed a large force of workmen. He con- 
ducted the last named enterprise for a num- 
ber of years, with marked success, and in 
1883, having acquired a handsome compe- 
tence, he put aside business cares and re- 
tired to private life. 

On the i8th of July. 1848, Mr. Ross was 
united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Moore, 
of Greensburg, a daughter of Ouartes 
Moore, a native of Pennsvhania, who took 



up his abode in College Corner, Indiana. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ross became the parents of 
six children: Lamartine and Mary, both de- 
ceased; Lou, a resident of Greensburg; 
Janette, wife of George M. Ewing, of 
Greensburg; Inez, deceased; and Manie 
E., wife of James E. Mendenhall. 

For a half century Mr. Ross was a deacon 
in the Presbyterian church and one of its 
most faithful and consi-Stent members. His 
political support was given to Democracy 
until 1856, when he joined the ranks of the 
Republican party. He never sought office, 
yet at the solicitation of his friends he served 
as township trustee and in other local posi- 
tions. In 1882 he took up his abode in 
Greensburg, and was one of its honored and 
respected citizens until his death, which oc- 
curred December 11, 1892. He belonged 
to that class of representative Americans 
whose enterprise and industry add to the 
general prosperity and whose public spirit 
is manifested by substantial encouragement 
given to all movements and measures calcu- 
lated to prove of benefit to the community. 



HOX. JOHN W. HOLCOMB. 

Not often is it given to a young man 
who has seen only a quarter of a century 
to occupy such an important place before 
the public as does the Hon. John W. Hol- 
comb, of Greensburg. He possesses un- 
usual ability and foresight, wisdom far be- 
yond his years, and in furthering the cause 
which he believes to be right manifests the 
enthusiasm and zeal that carry conviction 
to the minds of the doubtful and wavering, 
while, at the same time, a feeling of respect 
is aroused even in his political antagonists. 



234 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



He is not schooled in political methods, is 
not merely a mouth-piece of any party or- 
ganization, but makes up his mind inde- 
pendently upon the right or justice of a 
question, and acts accordingly. It is to be 
earnestly hoped that all representatives of 
the people in the future will thus act in 
harmony with the dictates of their con- 
science, and for the good of the public. 

Daniel W. Holcomb, father of our sub- 
ject, was born in the vicinity of Moore's 
Hill, Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1852. 
He removed thence to Jennings county, this 
state, and in 1870 became a resident of 
Decatur county. For almost three decades 
he has been numbered among the enterpris- 
ing agriculturists of Marion township, his 
fine homestead there, comprising two hun- 
dred acres, being one of the best in that 
locality. He has given his active support 
to the Republican party and is a true and 
patriotic citizen, highly respected by all 
who know him. Religiously he is a mem- 
l)er of the Freewill Baptist church, and is a 
liberal contributor to righteous causes. He 
chose Man.-, daughter of John Evans, for 
his companion and helpmate through life's 
journey. Her father, formerly a resident 
of Sand Creek township, this county, is now 
making his home on a farm in Jennings 
county. 

The birth of John W. Holcomb occurred 
in Marion township, Decatur county, Feb- 
ruary 27, 1874, and his boyhood was that of 
the average farmer's son. Such education 
as he obtained in his early years was af- 
forded him by the district school, but, not 
content with this, he later attended the 
Central Normal College, at Danville, Indi- 
ana. In that institution he was graduated, 
in 1896, with the degree of Bachelor of 



Laws, and was granted a diploma as a 
teacher, for he had pursued both the legal 
and pedagogic courses. During a period 
of eight years, commencing in 1890, he was 
successfully engaged in teaching, for a por- 
tion of each year, but since the spring of 
1899 he has devoted his time exclusively to 
the law, his office being in Greensburg. He 
thoroughly deserves the success which he 
enjoys, for he is a worthy type of the Ameri- 
can self-made man, — one who owes the 
major portion of his education to his own 
diligent efforts and determination, and has 
fought his way, inch by inch, to a position 
of honor in the community. 

That his acquaintances recognized in him 
a young man of exceptional ability and 
proiuise was shown by his election, in No- 
vember, 1898, to the house of representa- 
tives of this state, where he acted for the 
people during the winter of 1898-9. He 
introduced several bills, including one pro- 
viding for the reorganization of the state 
board of education (three members being 
added to that body), and, after a hot con- 
test, this bill was passed. He served ac- 
ceptably upon several committees, compris- 
ing those on education, labor and federal 
relations, and was the chairman of the com- 
mittee on the state library. For a young 
man he is rated as an unusually good 
speaker, his ideas being stated in a clear, 
concise, logical and convincing manner, 
while his poise and self-possession are truly 
remarkable. It is safe to predict for him a 
brilliant future, and his numerous friends 
ha\-e reason for the ]iride which they ha\'e 
in him. 

From his boyhood Mr. Holcomb re- 
ceived training in the Baptist tenets, and is 
now an active member of the Greensburg 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



235 



church. In the fraternities he belongs to 
the I. O. O. F., having joined that order at 
Westport, where he was a member of West- 
port Lodge, No. 68 1. He represented that 
lodge in the grand lodge of the state, and 
at present he is associated with Greensburg 
Lodge, No. 103. He also belongs to the 
Knights of Pythias, his membership being 
in Greensburg Lodge, No. 148, of Greens- 
burg. His popularity in professional, po- 
litical and social circles is beyond question, 
yet he is unostentatious and bears his hon- 
ors in the proper spirit, — that of an honest, 
straightforward American. His marriage 
took place September 27, 1899, when he 
was united to Miss Maggie Owens, of Deca- 
tur county. 



MILTON G. MOOR. 

In America, w-here the liberty of the peo- 
l)ie has been obtained by force of arms and 
made permanent by wise statesmanship, the 
soldier occupies the first place in the public 
mind, however high may be the popular re- 
gard for able and honest legislators. With 
a few prominent exceptions, among whom 
Lincoln must have the first place, no 
statesmen have left a brighter mark on our 
history than the soldier statesmen. From 
the field of national politics to the townshij) 
and its leaders in thought and in action, 
this is true. Since the civil war until recent 
years, when most of the old soldiers have 
found a resting place in the village ceme- 
teries, the veterans of the fight for the pres- 
ervation of the Union have been in the van 
in local affairs. This has been true in Jack- 
son township. Decatur county. Indiana, as 
elsewhere, and among the old soldiers of 
Jackson township none has been more high- 



ly regarded than the man whose name 
heads this article. Mr. Moor is not only an 
ex-soldier but was also an early settler, en- 
joying the distinction also of having been ' 
born in Jackson township, and is a repre- 
sentative farmer. .\s to public relations, 
he has held the office of county commis- 
sioner. 

Milton G. Moor was born April 13, 1840, 
a son of Calvin and Helen (Longcnecker) 
Moor. His parents, both natives of New 
York, came west and for a time lived in 
Franklin county. They came to Decatur 
county about 1830 and located in an un- 
broken forest, remote from civilization and 
inhabited for the most part by wild beasts 
which made the days dreadful and the 
nights hideous. They bought land and im- 
proved it and Mr. Moor became a success- 
ful farmer. He died in January, 1842, 
aged about forty years. His wife survived 
him until 1880, dying at the age of seventy. 
One of her sisters, Mar\' Longenecker, 
came to Indiana and was twice married, 
first to a man named Tiner and after his 
death to a Mr. Reed. The children of Cal- 
vin and Fllen (Longenecker) Moor were: 
Q. C, a farmer of Bartholomew county. 
Indiana; Mary, Mrs. Dillman; Emeline.Mrs. 
Patrick. (lccea.sed; John, a farmer; Sarah 
1... Mrs. Heard; Martin, who lives on the 
family homestead; and Milton G.. the sub- 
ject of this sketch. Three of their sons — 
Q. C. Martin and Milton G. — served their 
country gallantly in her hour of direst need. 
— that long, dark hour, 186 1-5. 

Milton G. Moor attained his majority 
about the time of the first call for troops to 
put down the slave-holders' rebellion in 
1861. Until that time he remained home 
with his widowed mother, and he had mas- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



tered all the mysteries and practicalities of 
farming- and in the public schools had ob- 
tained a good rudimentar}' education. 
Fired with patriotism, he enlisted in the 
United States service, "for three years or 
during the war," in Company H, Thirty- 
seventh Infantry, mustered in at Lawrence- 
burg, Indiana, and with his regiment was 
assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. 
His first experience in battle was at the bat- 
tle of Stone River, or Murfreesboro, and he 
was in active service continuously for three 
years, ending with forty days' fighting 
which terminated in the capture of Atlanta, 
July 28, 1864. Though he was in numer- 
ous hotly contested battles he was never 
wounded and has no hospital record, 
though his health was impaired to such an 
extent that he has never fully recovered his 
physical losses. He was mustered out of 
the service at Indianapolis and received an 
honorable discharge with full pay. 

After his return home from his army ca- 
reer, Mr. Moor resumed work on the home- 
stead, which he continued until he married, 
in 1871. He rented land for a time and 
soon bought a small tract which he im- 
proved and to which he has added until he 
now owns four hundred acres. He has 
built a large two-story brick house and am- 
ple barns and other out-buildings, and has 
all of his large agricultural property in a 
high state of cultivation. In politics Mr. 
Moor is an uncompromising Republican, 
always anxious for the success of his party 
and always a willing and efificient worker 
for its success. Never an ofifice-seeker, he 
has permitted himself to accept only one of- 
ficial trust, that of county commissioner, 
the duties of which he has discharged with 
extraordinary ability and entirely to the sat- 



isfaction of his fellow citizens irrespective of 
party affiliation. 

Mr. Moor married Miss Mary A. Gant, a 
daughter of John and Margaret (Palmer) 
Gant. Mrs. Moor was born in Franklin 
county, Indiana, December 8, 1842, and is 
a lady of much moral worth and many intel- 
lectual accomplishments. She is a grand- 
daughter of Judge Giles Gant, of Franklin 
count}', a pioneer and long a prominent 
man of that part of the state, who died at 
Rochester, Indiana, full of years and of hon- 
ors. Judge Gant was a leader in the De- 
mocracy, a well known Universalist and a 
citizen of the highest influence and useful- 
ness. His children numbered fourteen: 
Lewis, who lives at Sardinia, Indiana: 
Anna Jackmon; Matilda, Mrs. Mulholland; 
John, father of Mrs. Moor; Giles; Rachel, 
Mrs. Marshall; Lucinda, Mrs. Mulholland; 
Jeremiah: Silas; Sarah, Mrs. Seals; Brit- 
ton; Reuben: Caroline; and Mar}', Mrs. 
Hines. John and Margaret fPowner) Gant 
had four children: Mary, who married Mr. 
Moor; John, a well known resident of St. 
Louis: and Charlotte and Louisa, who died 
young. 

Mr. Gant bought land in Decatur county, 
but died just before it was his intention to 
move out from Franklin county. His wife, 
almost broken-hearted at the thought that 
the career of her husband, who was a man 
of more than ordinary intelligence and abil- 
ity, had been thus early terminated, brought 
the family to Decatur county and entered 
upon a pioneer life which was full of hard- 
ship and self-denial but which she made 
successful from e\ery point of view. Un- 
der her direction the land which her hus- 
band had purchased was cleared and im- 
proved and advanced to a good state of cul- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



237 



tivation. After a time slie niarrieil Jolin 
Falkard-, wliom slie l)cjre two cliildren. 
named Sarah and Laura. At the advanced 
age of seventy-seven years, this estimable 
woman is still Hving, at Beloit, Kansas. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moor had three daughters, 
all of whom are dead. Edith, the eldest, 
died at the age of one year; Bessie died at 
the age of nine years; and Inez at the age 
of two years. The loss of these children 
has cast a cloud of loneliness about the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Moor which they 
have never been able to banish. But they 
are rearing two motherless children, who, 
at the ages of eight and four respectively, 
were entrusted to them by their dying 
mother. l''.valecn, the elder, is now eigh- 
teen; her brother lunmons is fourteen. 
They have been carefully and lovingly 
reared and educated and fully appreciate the 
kindness of their foster parents, which they 
reward with such an afiection as they might 
have given their own parents had they been 
left to their care. Mrs. Moor, formerly a 
successful teacher, is a lady of refinement 
and culture. Mr. and Mrs. Moor are both 
members of the Presbyterian church, of 
Forest Mill, in which Mr. Moor is an elder. 



REV. PAUL STIAWXKT. 

Rev. Paul Stewart is the able and be- 
loved ])astor of the S])ring Tlill I'nited 
Presbyterian church, one of the pioneer 
churches of Decatur county. Thoroughly 
consecrated to the noble work of uplifting 
humanity to a higher plane of living and 
purpose, he possesses the enthusiasm and 
spirit of a man in his early prime, while, at 
the same time practical experience and a 



rare pow er of insight and observation keep 
him from falling into the errors of judg- 
ment and the mistaken zeal with which too 
many young ministers are animated. He 
is eloquent in his presentation of the truth, 
and is fearless in the denouncement of evil, 
thus commanding the respect of every one. 
regardless of doctrinal dififerences. 

Fugit township is fortunate in having 
two such efificient workers in the cause of 
Christianity as the Rev. Paul Stewart and 
the Rev. Robert A. Bartlett, both of whom 
were born in the closing year of the great 
war of the Rebellion, and both of whom are 
natives of the proud state of Ohio. Our 
subject's birthplace was in Xenia, his father. 
Dr. Robert Stewart, being a well known 
and very successful physician of that thriv- 
ing town for many years. 

The boyhood of Rev. Paul Stewart was 
quietly spent in his native town, where he 
was a pupil in the public schools and laid 
the foundations of the broad education 
which he later acquired. It was then his 
privilege to pursue higher branches of learn- 
ing in Westminster College, at \cw Wil- 
mington, Penn.sylvania, where he was 
graduated in 1889, and finally to take a 
course at the Xenia Theological Seminary. 
In the latter well known institution he was 
graduated in the class of 1892, and thus, 
after much preparation, found himself at 
last on the threshhold of his chosen voca- 
tion. 

The first charge of the young minister 
was at Washburn, Illinois, where he re- 
mained for a period of four years, from the 
time of his graduation until 1896. His 
earnestness and true manliness of character 
were felt in the community, and it was a 
matter of deep regret to the members of his 



238 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



devoted congregation there when he an- 
nounced his decision to leave them for 
another pastorate. Three years ago, in 
1896, he assumed the charge which he now 
holds, and, needless to say, he has won the 
love not only of the people whom he serves, 
but also of the general public. He possess- 
es that liberal, loving spirit of the times, 
which is as far removed from the old sectar- 
ian dogmatism of, say, even a half-century 
ago, as is the true spirit of Christianity from 
Pharaseeism. His genial, sunny nature, 
and his ready sympathy for the unfortu- 
nate and sorrowing, make his presence a 
joy to every one ; and when he beholds the 
power for good which he is enabled to see 
in this community he must, indeed, feel 
that "his lines are cast in pleasant places," 
and that his efforts are being blessed. 

The happy home of the young pastor is 
presided over by his amiable, helpful wife, 
formerly Miss Anna Mary Currie, of Xenia, 
Ohio. Tlieir marriage was solemnized im- 
mediately after his graduation. May 10, 
1892. They have two children, named re- 
spectively, Robert Currie and Martha. 

A brief sketch of the Spring Hill United 
Presbyterian church, over which Mr. Stew- 
art presides as pastor, will prove of interest 
to many. Organized July 30, 1825, under 
the guidance of the Rev. David McDill, D. 
D., and the jurisdiction of the Associate 
Reformed church, it assumed the present 
title after the union of the Associate and the 
Associate Reformed churches, in 1858. Its 
difference in principle from the regular 
Presbyterian churches of to-day is very 
slight, opposition to secret societies, and the 
exclusive use of a metrical version of the 
Psalms of David being the chief points of 
variance. The first pastor of the church 



was the Rev. James Worth, a native of New 
Jersey. He was ordained to the ministry 
here in June, 1830, and for twenty-two years 
served this church. Then, going to Ore- 
gon, he spent the remainder of his life there, 
his ministerial labors being finished by his 
death, in July, 1881. From May, 1852, 
until September, 1867, the Rev. J. R. Walk- 
er, a native of Dublin, Ireland, occupied this 
pulpit, and under his ministry, the member- 
ship was greatly increased and every depart- 
ment of the church work flourished. The 
next pastor. Rev. S. Taggart. a brilliant and 
highly gifted man. remained but five 
months, when he was forced to resign on 
account of poor health. His successor, the 
Rev. William Johnson, now deceased, made 
an efficient pastor during the six years of 
his stay as shepherd of this people. The 
next pastor. Rev. William M. Ritchie, re- 
mained here only two years, and was fol- 
lowed by the Rev. A. S. Vincent. D. D., a 
man of sterling Christian character, who 
labored in this field for a period of nine 
years. His work was substantial. Much 
beloved by all, he accomplished a great deal 
for his Master. He is now the pastor of 
the First United Presbyterian church of 
Emporia, Kansas. 

The Rev. T. H. McMichael took charge 
of the congregation in 1890. A brilliant 
and attractive preacher, a man of great 
power, it was his privilege to do much for 
those who came in touch with him. Dur- 
ing his brief pastorate an impetus was given 
to all branches of church w'ork. Tlie beau- 
tiful church in which the congregation wor- 
ships was built during this time, at a cost of 
twelve thousand dollars. The Lord called 
him to a larger work, and in September, 
1892. he resigned to take charge of the First 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



239 



United Presbyterian church of Cleveland, 
Ohio. 

The Rev. H. H. Crawford was the next 
pastor. A man of very great ability, stu- 
dious, attractive in the presentation of truth, 
he labored to the edification of the people. 
Ill health caused him to resign, in April, 
1895. after serving the people most accepta- 
bly for a period of a year and a half; and he 
in turn was followed by the subject of this 
sketch, whose work is opening out before 
him with greater promise than ever before. 



HON. JAMES B. FOLEY. 

This distinguished citizen of Greensburg. 
whose death took place December 5, 1886, 
was born in Mason county, Kentucky, Oc- 
tober 18, 1807. His mother. Mary (Brad- 
ford) Foley, was a daughter of Benjamin 
Bradford, superintendent of the arsenal at 
Harper's Ferry, Virginia, during the Rev- 
olutionary war. \\'hen only seven years of 
age our subject had the great misfortune 
to lose his father, the latter leaving a widow 
with eight children to support. To add to 
her affliction, the mother became blind, and 
as early as possible the boys were obliged 
to go out into the world and make their 
own living. At sixteen years of age James 
Foley was a hired hand on a flatboat on the 
Mississipi)i river; when twenty-one years 
old he commanded a credit of twenty thou- 
sand dollars, a remarkable showing for a 
poor, friendless boy thrown upon his own 
resources and a striking illustration of the 
proverb. "Labor omnia vincit." On June 
15, 1834. Mr. Foley returned to Greens- 
burg and opened a dry-goods store, which 
he carried on for two years, and in 1837 



purchased a farm two miles from the city. 
In 1880 he sold this property and bought 
his late residence, one mile out of town. 
For a period, ending with 1877, he was ex- 
tensively engaged in pork-packing in Cin- 
cinnati and in Lawrenceburg, his tran.sac- 
tions frequently amounting to eighty thou- 
sand dollars in a single year. 

Mr. Foley was honored by his fellow cit- 
izens with many marks of their esteem and 
appreciation of his good qualities. In 1841 
he was elected treasurer of Dearborn coun- 
ty, serving one term. In 1850 he was made 
a delegate to the state constitutional con- 
vention held at Indianapolis, and in 1852 
was appointed by Governor \\'^right as 
brigadier general of militia for the fourth 
district. In 1856 he was nominated on the 
Democratic ticket for congress, and was 
elected by a majority of fifteen hundred 
over his opponent, William Cumback, who 
later had a prominent political career. In 
1874 he was again offered a nomination for 
congress, but declined, feeling that his days 
of active life were al)out over, and from 
that time until his death, in 1886, he lived a 
quiet retired life, surrounded by loving chil- 
dren and grandchildren, and happy in the 
consciousness of duties fulfilled, a clear 
conscience and a heart filled with love to- 
ward God and man. 

Mr. Foley was married .\pril 2. 1829, to 
Martha Carter, of Mason county, Ken- 
tucky, and six children were born to them, 
of whom three are living: John J., of 
Greensburg, whose sketch will he found 
following this; Alexander .\.. of Cincin- 
nati. Ohio; and Mrs. Josephine Mansfield, 
of Greensburg. The mother of these chil- 
dren died, and Mr. Foley was again mar- 
rie.l on March 4. 1848. to Mrs. Mary Hark- 



240 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



leman, of Decatur county, who bore him 
three children: William O., of Conners- 
ville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania: Alary, 
wife of Louis ZoUer, of Greensburg: and 
Mrs. Elizabeth Payne, of Franklin, Indiana. 
In the year 1827 Mr. Foley professed 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and through- 
out his long life was a consistent Christian, 
giving liberally of his time and money to 
advance the cause of his Master. Among 
his last gifts was that of five hundred dol- 
lars to the Christian church of Greensburg. 
of which he had long been an honored 
member. He also gave liberally toward 
the endowment of Bethany College, Vir- 
ginia, and Butler University, Indiana. He 
was a man of fine character, cjuiet and un- 
assuming, and throughout his entire busi- 
ness career was never a defendant in a law- 
suit. His memory will long be cherished 
bv all who knew him. 



JOHN J. FOLEY. 



This esteemed resident of Greensburg is 
a son of Hon. James B. Foley, and was born 
in Mason county, Kentucky, June 21. 1830. 
He came with his father's family to Deca- 
tur county when a child of three years and 
has always made it his home. His early 
life was spent on his father's farm and in 
1863 he came to Greensburg, and with Put- 
, nam Ewing established the firm of Ewing 
& Foley, dealers in grain, coal, feed and 
general merchandise. This connection con- 
tinued for al)out twenty-eight years, when 
Mr. Foley retired and since that time he 
has been engaged in no active business. 
He, however, owns a valuable farm of five 
hundred acres near the city, which is under 



fine cultivation and yields him a handsome 
income, and resides in a pleasant home in 
the city. 

In 1853 Mr. Foley was married to Miss 
Margaret Hillis, of Greensburg, and two 
children were born to them, both of whom 
are deceased. Mr. Foley has always been 
a stanch Democrat and interested in the 
success of his party, but has never been an 
office-seeker, his time being fully occupied 
in attending to his business affairs. So- 
cially he is a member of Greensburg Lodge, 
103, I. O. O. F., to which he has belonged 
for nearly half a century. 



ALEXANDER GOSNELL. 

The history of Decatur county, its devel- 
opment from a wild prairie to a condition of 
rare productiveness, thriving villages and 
beautiful, well cultivated homesteads, could 
not be accurately written if, for any reason, 
the part taken in this transformation by the 
Gosnell family should be omitted. For 
more than three-score and ten years they 
have toiled and labored unceasingly, active- 
ly supporting all public improvements, 
maintaining schools and churches and advo- 
cating progress in every direction. 

In fact the Gosnells have been a family of 
pioneers from the early colonial days of 
America's history. Originally of England, 
the paternal great-grandfather and the 
grandfather of the subject of this review 
came to the United States long prior to the 
war of the Revolution, and it is stated upon 
good authority that the former built the 
first house erected upon the site of the city 
of Baltimore, Maryland. Benjamin, father 
of Alexander Gosnell, was born in Balti- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



241 



more in 1760, and when he was about seven 
years of age his mother died, and the father 
removed with his children to Virginia, set- 
tling upon the Staunton river. There the 
lad grew to manhood, strong and brave, 
and when the war for independence came 
on he enlisted in the cause of the colonies 
and assisted in obtaining the victory which 
came to us, after many years of struggling. 
He served under the leadership of the gal- 
lant general, Nathaniel Greene, participat- 
ing in numerous important battles and be- 
ing present at the surrender of Cornwallis. 
Subsequently Mr. Gosnell followed the tide 
of emigration which was rapidly drifting 
westward, and for some years he made his 
home in Harrison county, Kentucky. In 
1826 he located in the neighborhood of Lit- 
tle P'lat Rock, in Adams township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, and there the remainder of 
his life was passed, his age at death being 
eighty-six years. He was married three 
times, his last wife, Dorcas Furinash, a na- 
tive of Virginia, being the mother of our 
subject. She was much younger than her 
husband, and survived him a number of 
years, dying in Illinois at the home of one of 
her five children. Benjamin Gosnell had 
children by each of his marriages, but all of 
tiie once large family are now deceased. 

He was a native of Kentucky, his birth 
having occurred in Harrison county, Au- 
gust 30, 1820, and though he was a child 
of but six years when the family came away 
he distinctly remembered his birthplace 
and the scenes of those early years. His 
recollections of pioneer days in this county 
also were vivid, and, though he and his rel- 
atives and neighbors, for the most part, led 
a life of arduous toil, they had their com- 
pensations, after all, and many a merry 



gathering and Thanksgiving feast stood out 
in his memory. 

Receiving a one-third portion of the old 
homestead, which comprised a quarter sec- 
tion of land, Alexander Gosnell soon sold 
it and bought the fine property, in Adams 
township, which he owned until his death. 
He dwelt here uninterruptedly, and the en- 
ergy which he expended, year by year, is 
now plainly shown in the fertile, well im- 
proved fields, neat home and air of thrift 
which prevails everywhere about the place. 

In 1842 Mr. Gosnell married Maria Dog- 
gett, of Kentucky, and twelve years after- 
ward death entered the household and took 
the devoted wife and mother. Their two 
sons were named respectively Sylvester and 
Sebastian, and the first mentioned son re- 
sides on the old homestead, relieving his 
father, during the life-time of the latter, of 
nnich of the care and responsibility which 
would otherwise rest upon him in his de- 
clining days. Mr. Gosnell, senior, chose 
for a second wife Caroline C. Miner, who 
was a true helpmeet to him. Alexander 
Gosnell died October 19, 1899, highly re- 
spected, as he deserved to be. and, without 
exception, his neighbors and acquaintances 
held him in genuine esteem. The remain- 
iiit; members of the family also are held in 
high regard. 



dvi-:r c. elder. 



A prominent citizen and an honored 
ofticial of Decatur county, Mr. Elder was 
also a loyal soldier in the civil war and has 
every reason to be proud of his military 
record, for which he is deserving of as much 
credit as for his successful business career 
in later vears. He was born near Greens- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



burg, in which city he makes his home, 
October 30, 1842, and is the son of John H. 
and Ella (Cobb) Elder. His grandfather, 
James Elder, was born in Virginia, and in 
his early boyhood days removed with his 
parents to Kentucky, where he grew to 
manhood. In 1824 the family came to De- 
catur county and located near Greensburg. 
The grandfather became a large land-owner 
and extensive farmer, and accumulated a 
handsome fortune. In early life he was a 
Whig, later joining the Republican party, 
and for some years he served as associate 
judge of the county. He was a member of 
the Baptist church, in which denomination 
his brother Mathew was a minister, labor- 
ing for some time in the interest of the 
church in this county. James Elder was 
twice married, and of his first union seven 
children — four sons and three daughters — 
were born. 

The father of our subject was the eldest 
of this family and was born in Lincoln coun- 
ty, Kentucky, in August, 1816. He w^as 
only eight years of age when he accom- 
panied his parents to Decatur county, 
spending the remainder of his life in Marion 
township, four miles southeast of Greens- 
burg, where he owned a farm, upon which 
his death occurred January 7, 1876. He 
was an enterprising and progressive farmer, 
was a stanch Republican in his political af- 
filiations, a Universahst in his religious 
faith, and in all things a consistent and hon- 
orable gentleman. John H. Elder and 
Ella Cobb were united in marriage in 1842. 
The lady was a daughter of Joshua Cobb, 
and was born in Worcester, Pennsylvania. 
Her father was a native of Vermont, but re- 
sided for some time in the Keystone state, 
and in 18 19, with his family, came to the 



west, floating down the Ohio river on a 
flat-boat. He spent one year in Dearborn 
county, at what is now the town of Aurora, 
and in 1820 came to the present site of the 
city of Greensburg. It was then only a tract 
of government land, with little indication 
that a prosperous and populous place would 
one day be builded upon it. Mr. Cobb en- 
tered land four miles from where the city 
was afterward laid out, and there followed 
farming until his death, which occurred in 
August, i860, in the eighty-sixth year of his 
age. In his family were six children — three 
sons and three daughters. Of the latter, 
two died in infancy, and of the remaining 
children only two survive. Dyer C. and 
John P., bot4i residents of Greensburg. 

Dyer C. Elder pursued his education in 
an old log school-house, such as was com- 
mon at that day, with its puncheon floor, 
rough slab seats and rude desks. He 
gained a good practical education, to which 
he has since added by reading and observa- 
tion. When not in school he assisted his 
father on the farm, and became a rugged, 
industrious youth, who, when the tocsin of 
war sounded, was ready to respond to the 
call and give of his strength and courage in 
defense of the government. He was not 
quite nineteen years of age when he en- 
listed, on the 19th of August, 1861, joining 
Company E, Seventh Indiana Infantry, as 
a private. He served until September 20, 
1864, at which time he was mustered out. 
He took part in many of the most noted en- 
gagements of, the civil war and can relate 
most interesting details of those celebrated 
battles. He was under fire at Greenbriar, 
October 3, 1861; Winchester, March 23, 
1862; Port Republic, June 8-9, 1862; 
Slaughter Mountain, August 13, 1862; Sec- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



243 



oncl Bull Run, August 28-30, 1862; South 
Mountain, September 15, 1862; Antietam, 
September 17, 1862; Uniontown, Novem- 
ber, 1862; Fredericksburg, December 12- 
13, 1862; Chancellorsville, May 2-4, 1863, 
and Gettysburg, July 1-4, 1863, at which 
place his corps, division and brigade opened 
the fight, and Mr. Elder was near General 
Reynolds when the latter was killed. He 
also participated in the battles of Mine Run 
and the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 
1864, and in the latter engagement was 
wounded in the right shoulder, which ended 
his military career. He was sent to the 
army hospital and sul^sequently to the hos- 
pital in Philadelphia. 

After recovering from his wound Mr. 
Elder opened a blacksmith shop, at Greens- 
burg, which he conducted for twenty-six 
years. In Novenil>er, 1898, he was elected 
county treasurer, his term ex])iring in Jan- 
uary, 1906. He has held other offices of 
trust, being trustee of Washington town- 
ship from 1882 until 1886, chief of the fire 
department for twelve years and a member 
of the city council for four years. He is a 
member and trustee of the Christian church, 
and is a charter member of George H. 
Thomas Post, No. 5, G. A. R., in which 
he served for two terms as commander and 
was representative to the national encamp- 
ment, at St. Louis, in 1886. He also be- 
longs to Decatur Lodge, No. 103. L O. O. 
P., and to Greensburg Lodge. No. 148. 
K. P. In all of the offices which he has 
filled Mr. Elder has acquitted himself with 
honor and has earned the esteem and re- 
spect of those with whom he has been as- 
sociated. 

Mr. Elder was married, January i, 1876, 
to Miss Joanna Maston, daughter of John 



and Louisa (Montgomery) Maston, of Rip- 
ley county, Indiana. They are the parents 
of five children, as follows: Louella, now 
the wife of Enos Porter, a resident of Shel- 
ley ville, Intliana; John C, who is engaged 
in the machine and implement business in 
Greensburg; Ada, who died at the age of 
twelve years; and Pearl and Mary C, at 
home. 



REV. DANIEL R. VAN BUSKIRK. 

Endowed by nature with the qualities of 
a statesman and leader of the people, the 
Rev. Daniel R. Van Buskirk, of Greens- 
burg, early in life consecrated his talents 
to the service of the Lord, cheerfully re- 
nouncing the glories and honors which, be- 
yond a doubt, awaited him had he chosen to 
continue in a public career. He has never 
regretted his decision, and has been en- 
abled, by the blessing of God, to do a great 
and imperishable work for humanity. 

In tracing the histor}' of this venerable 
and beloved minister of the gospel it may 
be noted that, as his surname plainly indi- 
cates, he is of Holland-Dutch extraction. 
Three brothers bearing the name came to 
this country, settling in New York city 
when that place was known as New Am- 
sterdam, and from them are descended the 
several branches of the family in America. 
The ancestor of our subject was one of the 
hardy pioneers of Kentucky, somewhat 
more than a century ago, and thence, in 
1813. George \'an Buskirk. grandfather of 
Daniel R.. removed to Wayne county, Ind- 
iana, becoming one of the founders of this 
state. He dwelt here for one year prior to 
its admission to statehood, and spent the 
remainder of his davs on the farm which 



244 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



he had located, about three-quarters of a 
mile from the present town of Cambridge 
City. He died during the '20s, faithful to 
his strong belief in the Baptist creed. 

George Van Buskirk, father of our sub- 
ject, was born in 1802 in Estill county, 
Kentucky, and to him was fulfilled the 
promise of long life, for at the time of his 
death, in January, 1898, he was in his 
ninety-sixth year. He was reared from his 
eleventh year in the vicinity of Cambridge 
City, but after his marriage he made his 
home in Fayette county, devoting his en- 
tire attention to farming, in which pursuit 
he met with marked success. Conscien- 
tious regard for right and duty was the 
strongest phase of his character, and when 
the great slavery issue forced itself upon the 
minds of men, he gave up his long-contin- 
ued allegiance to the Democratic party, 
through which was offered no hope for the 
enslaved race, and from 1854 until the or- 
ganization of the Republican party he stood 
aloof from all political bodies; then, with 
a hearty will, joined the party pledged to 
the upholding of freedom and justice to all 
mankind. He was in no sense a politician, 
but was a true patriot, his first thought be- 
ing the welfare of his loved country. He 
associated himself with the Disciples or 
Christian church, in his early manhood, and 
was a zealous worker thenceforth for the 
church which has no other creed "than 
Christ, and Him crucified." To the mar- 
riage of George and Rachel (Helm) Van 
Buskirk twelve children were born, and all 
but one of the number grew to maturity 
and were married. 

The birth of the Rev. Daniel R. Van Bus- 
kirk occurred in the vicinity of Benton- 
ville, Fayette county, Indiana, July 27, 1831. 



Until he was over eighteen years of age he 
remained on the old homestead, in the 
meantime laying the rudiments of an edu- 
cation in the schools of that district. After 
teaching for one term, he spent two terms 
in Fairview Academy, and subsequently at- 
tended Bethany College for a short time. 
Then, going to Butler University (formerly 
known as the Northwestern Christian Uni- 
versity), at Indianapolis, he spent the open- 
ing year (1856) in that celebrated institu- 
tion's history, engaged in theological 
studies. He had been ordained to preach in 
the Christian church, at Fairview, in 1854, 
and in 1858 was placed in charge of the 
academy there. During that year and the 
one ensuing he not only managed the col- 
lege in a masterly way, but also occupied 
the pulpit and carried on general minis- 
terial work. 

In the autumn of i860, the Christian 
church at Greensburg, for which he always 
had a special love, called him to its pas- 
torate, and for just a decade he faithfully 
labored in this field. The period was one 
which tried men's souls, as it covered the 
darkest years of our nation's history, and 
through it all the young minister never 
wavered in his zeal for the abolition of 
slavery, nor in his belief that the cause of 
right was bound to triumph, and in 1864 
he became the chaplain of the One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteers. 
He had been an earnest Democrat until 
1852, when he decided that he could no 
longer endorse the course of that party, 
and he was one of the most influential 
foimders of the Republican party in 1856. 
Those were days in which, as it has been 
said, "men fought for God and the right, 
with the Bible in one hand, and the sword 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



245 



in the other," and the strong' and well 
founded convictions, necessarily expressed 
in public upon many an occasion, brought 
l\lr. Van Buskirk into widespread notice. 
In 1862 lie was elected to be the representa- 
tive of the people of his county in the legis- 
lature of the state, and two years later he 
was further honored by being elected to the 
senate, serving one session in each body, 
and in the meanwhile occupying the Greens- 
l)urg pulpit every Sunday. 

At the close of the war, when the great 
issues of that strife had been settled, there 
was "a parting of the ways" for Mr. Van 
lUiskirk. On one hand were the allure- 
ments of a political career, into which he 
had been drawn by his zeal in the cause of 
the oppressed and downtrodden — by his 
love for the Union, — and on the other side 
appeared, in somewhat sober colors, the 
humble pathway on which he had started 
a few years earlier. He manfully fought the 
battle with his inclinations, and the result 
was that be resigned his place in the sen- 
ate — a place which was tendered to Will- 
iam Cumback, who later won high and well 
deserved honors as president of the senate 
and in a l)rilliant political career. (See his 
sketch, ijrinted on another page of this 
work.) 

For a period of seven and one-half years 
the Rev. Daniel R. Van Buskirk was pastor 
of a church at Bioomington, Illinois; for 
two years was engaged in ministerial labors 
in Rushville, Indiana, and for five years 
held the charge of the church of the Dis- 
ciples of Christ near the center of New 
York city. Then, going to Indianapolis, 
he was greatly blessed in his work as min- 
ister of tiie Third Christian church of that 
city, one of the most flourishing churches 



in this country. He remained there for 
twelve years, or until 1896, when he re- 
signed his pastorate, with a view to retir- 
ing, after almost half a century of work in 
the Master's vineyard. Coming to Greens- 
bnrg, he was urged so strenuously to again 
become ]iastor of the church to which he 
had devotetl ten years of his early prime 
that he at length consented, and thus he 
bids fair to "be in the harness" when the 
summons comes to him to lay aside his 
earthly cares and to "enter into the rest 
which remains for the people of God." The 
Greensburg Christian church edifice was 
built during the former pastorate of our 
subject, and among the members are 
many of the foremost citizens of this thriv- 
ing town. 

To those who have not had the pleasure 
of knowing Mr. Van Buskirk personally, 
and there are many who know him by name 
and who are familiar with his merits and 
accomplishments in the spreading of Chris- 
tianity, it may be of interest to learn that 
he is gentle and unassuming in manner, a 
fit servant of the meek and lowly Master. 
Cheerfulness and hopefulness are pro- 
nounced qualities in his makeup, and sun- 
shine seems to be engendered by his pres- 
ence in any gathering. He is a strong, 
forcible speaker, logical and convincing in 
argument, and at the same time fair and 
tolerant of those who honestly differ with 
him in opinion. He enjoys the love and 
high esteem of old and young, rich and 
poor, and it is hard to believe that he has 
an enemy in the world. 

In all his joys and sorrows Mr. Van Bus- 
kirk has been aided and cheered by his 
loved wife, whose maiden name was M. B. 
Kemmer. They were married April 13, 



246 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



1852, and became the parents of two sons 
and three daughters, namely: William, of 
Cambridge City; Emma, who resides at 
home; Laura, wife of H. C. Hodges, of 
Morgan county, Indiana; Grace, who was 
educated at Butler University, and is a 
teacher; -and Walter Scott, who carries on 
the old family homestead, in Fayette coun- 
ty. Mrs. Van Buskirk is a daughter of 
Daniel Kemmer and granddaughter of 
John Nicholas, who was a soldier in Wash- 
ington's army during the Revolutionary 
war. 



HON. J. B. ROBISON. 

The agricultural class of Decatur county 
has no better or more progressive repre- 
sentative than the Hon. J. B. Robison, who 
is now living retired in Greensburg, after a 
very busy, and useful career. His family 
has been actively associated with the devel- 
opment of this county for almost four-score 
years, during which period they have 
strongly upheld all measures for improve- 
ment and advancement, and from a wilder- 
ness they witnessed the transformation of 
the country into a fertile farmland, aiding 
materially in the grand work. 

The father of our subject, Andrew Robi- 
son, of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, 
came to this state in 182 1, a young man, 
and took up his abode in Fugit township. 
There he improved a farm and devoted him- 
self to its cultivation until his death, in 
1853. In his youth he had learned the 
trade of a tanner, and he followed that call- 
ing for a year or two after his arrival in this 
county. Politically he was a man of strong 
convictions, and, as a stanch Whig, was one 
of the first men in this section to agitate the 



suppression of slavery. For many years he 
was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian 
church, and his daily life was in full accord 
with the noble faith which was his anchor in 
the storms and trials which he encountered. 
He married Mary Donnell and two of their 
children grew to maturity: Mrs. Hanna 
McCoy and J. B., subject of this review. 

The birth of the Hon. J. B. Robison took 
place on the old family homestead in Fugit 
township, July 11, 1834. There he lived as 
boy and man, and this property, comprising 
two hundred and forty acres, now belongs 
to him. He continued to carry on the 
farm, long ago considered one of the best 
in the county, until 1896, when he retired 
to enjoy a well earned rest. To the original 
homestead he added other land until it now 
comprises five hundred acres. For years 
he was an extensive dealer in and shipper of 
live stock, and in this branch of business 
made a snug little fortune. 

Mr. Robison was a soldier in the war of 
the Rebellion for a short time. As a citi- 
zen he has been known as a true patriot, 
eager to promote the interests of the people. 
He has given his political allegiance to the 
Republican party, and in 1880 was honored 
by being elected to the state legislature. 
Again, in 1888, and in the sessions of 1889- 
90 and 1891-2, he represented this county 
in the general assembly. He has been a 
member of the Presbyterian church for 
many years and has long acted as an elder 
in the congregation. 

The marriage of Mr. Robison and Mar- 
garet Meek, of this county, was solemnized 
May 19, 1863. A son and two daughters 
bless this union, namely: William E., an 
enterprising young farmer, now managing 
the family homestead; Stella, who is the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



247 



wife of A. M. Reed, of Sandusky, Indiana; 
Clara, who is living at home with her par- 
ents. 



THEOPHILUS E. F. MILLER. M. D. 

The family physician sustains an intimate 
relation with all members of families in 
which, in his professional work, he is estab- 
lished more or less permanently, and gains 
an influence in the connnunity second to 
that of no other man. To be markedly 
successful, he must be able professionally 
and tactful and syni])athctic beyond most 
men; and. for the reason that he is made 
the confidant of his town's-people in mat- 
ters of delicacy and privacy, he must needs 
be a man of honor not given to gossiping 
with one about the doings of the other. 
All that the good family physician may be 
to his people Dr. T. E. F. Miller, of West- 
port, Decatur county, Indiana, has become 
to the large number of families who consti- 
tute his following. 

Dr. Miller, who was the first homeopathic 
practitioner in Westport, is a native of Buf- 
falo, New York, and was born February 4, 
1852, a son of J. J. and E. E. (Diedrick) 
Miller. His father was a native of Wurt- 
temberg, Germany, and his mother was 
born near Barenwalde, Prussia. They 
came to America while yet young and be- 
came acquainted and married in Bulifalo, 
New York. The father of J. J. Miller was 
a manufacturer of cloth at Metzingen, 
Stuttgart, and died at Stuttgart nearly a 
hundred years old. All of his family re- 
mained in Germany but his sons J. J. and 
Charles. The latter came to the United 
States and soon afterward entered the 
United States army and served all through 



the civil war, and he is at this time an in- 
mate of a soldiers' home at Milwaukee, Wis- 
consin. 

Forty or forty-five years ago J. J. Miller 
removed with his family from BufYalo, New 
York, to Chicago, Illinois, and there he en- 
gaged in the manufacture of snufT and ci- 
gars. Later he made gliie and was inter- 
ested in other manufacturing enterprises 
until after the great fire of 1871. He then 
went to New Orleans, Louisiana, and gave 
his attention for a time to the improvement 
of processes for the refining of sugar. After 
some years of success in this work he re- 
turned to Chicago, where he is living in 
retirement, aged seventy-three. Follow- 
ing are the names of the children of J. J. 
and E. E. (Diedrick) Miller: Charles, de- 
ceased, who was identified with e.xpress in- 
terests as a local agent; Emil, who is living 
in the west; Paul, who is an employe of a 
leading German newspaper of Chicago, 
Illinois; Dr. Miller, of Westport, Indiana; 
and Madaline, who is now Mrs. Louis Car- 
ciotto. The father of these children is a 
German Lutheran, and the mother, de- 
ceased, was a Lutheran. 

Dr. Miller was reared in Chicago and in 
his day was a boy about town and knew the 
city pretty thoroughly. He acquired a 
good education and studied veterinarj- med- 
icine and surger>-. But he did not like the 
career that he had mapped out for himself, 
and gave up veterinary practice and went to 
New York and engaged in the laundry 
business. He saved money and after a time 
returned to Chicago, where he took up the 
study of homoeopathic medicine under the 
j preceptorship of Dr. Hobart. Later he 
studied under the direction of Professor 
Chas. V. Pusheck. In 1879 he attended 



248 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



lectures at Hahnemann Medical College 
and Hospital, at Chicago. After four 
courses of lectures at that institution he 
located at Clifty, Decatur county, Indiana, 
where he practiced his profession success- 
fully two years as the pioneer homoeopath- 
ic physician of that town. After a post- 
graduate course at Hahnemann Medical 
College, Chicago, he came in 1886 to West- 
port, where he has built up a large practice 
which extends into all the country sur- 
rounding the town. 

In January, 1895, Dr. Miller married 
Mrs. Nannie Cann, daughter of Jacob and 
Gabriella (Hamilton) Back, of Decatur 
county, Indiana. Jacob Back is a son of 
John Back, of German descent, a native of 
the state of Kentucky, who settled in Deca- 
tur county, where he was for a time a hotel- 
keeper and later a farmer. The Backs were 
a Baptist family devoted to the church and 
all its interests. James and Judy (Owens) 
Hamilton came out from Pennsylvania to 
Indiana, at an early date, and settled on 
land in Decatur county which they im- 
proved and where Mr. Hamilton died, aged 
seventy-eight. His wife died in Tipton 
county, Indiana, at the ripe old age of 
ninety-nine. They were active Baptists all 
their lives. The children of John Back 
were Elizabeth (Mrs. Griffy, of Shelbyville, 
Indiana), Nancy (Mrs. Lloyd, of Iowa), 
Jacob (father of Mrs. Miller), Jane (Mrs. 
Holmes, dead), Wallace (who died at twen- 
ty-one), and Sarah (Mrs. Pavey). The 
children of James and Judy (Owens) Ham- 
ilton were: Rebecca J. (Mrs. Armstrong), 
John Henry (of Oregon), Nancy (Mrs. 
Williamson), Jane (Mrs. Robbins, of Ore- 
gon), Margaret (Mrs. Tyner, of Tipton, In- 
diana), George (dead), Melinda (Mrs. 



Pike), Gabriella (mother of Mrs. Miller), 
and W. T. (a farmer in Tipton county, Indi- 
ana). The children of Jacob and Gabriella 
(Hamilton) Back were: Nannie (Mrs. 
Miller), John W. (a tinner living at Tipton, 
Indiana), Era (Mrs. Pike, dead), Abie 
(Mrs. Suite, of Tipton, Indiana), and Jacob 
(who died leaving a widow). Dr. and Mrs. 
Miller have no children. Dr. Miller is a 
charter member of Westport Lodge, No. 
317, Knights of Pythias, which was organ- 
ized in 1892, and he is a popular and public- 
spirited citizen. Mrs. Miller is a member 
of the Christian church and the Doctor is 
helpful to all its interests. 



REV. ROBERT A. BARTLETT. 

Among the most popular ministers of 
the gospel in Decatur county is the Rev. 
Robert Alexander Bartlett, pastor of the 
Presbyterian church at Kingston. Gifted 
with natural talents and an earnest love for 
the noble vocation to which he has chosen 
to devote his life, he further prepared him- 
self for work in the Master's vineyard by 
years of careful study and training, and 
though yet in his early prime has beheld 
gratifying results from his labors. 

A native of the grand old Buckeye state, 
Mr. Bartlett was born in the village of Aus- 
tinburg, Ashtabula county, January 6, 1865. 
His father was the Rev. Alexander Bart- 
lett, who was well and favorably known in 
the Presbyterian denomination, in whose 
ranks he nobly labored for several decades. 
He was a man of profound learning and 
good judgment, and was revered and loved 
by every one who knew him. He was a 
graduate of Oberlin College and Theologi- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



249 



cal Seminary, at Oberlin, Ohio, and was a 
clergyman who kept abreast of the times, 
preaching the word of God fearlessly. After 
the cessation of hostilities between the 
luirtli and south in the civil war, he received 
a call to become the pastor of the New 
Providence church, at Maryville, Tennessee, 
in the eastern part of that state, and, accept- 
ing it, continued to make his home in that 
locality until his death, in 1883. For a long- 
period he not only occupied the jndpit of 
the Presbyterian church in Maryville, but 
also held the chair of Latin in Maryville 
College. His wife, the mother of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, bore the name of Laura 
S. Merrill in her girlhood. She died in 
1892, at Dayton, Tennessee, and was buried 
in the college cemetery at Maryville. Both 
led lives which were above reproach and in- 
finitely helpful and inspiring to all who 
came within the reach of their inthiencc. 

Reared in such an ideal home atmo.s- 
phere, where love toward God and mankind 
was held as the mainspring and object of 
life, it is not strange that the youthful Rob- 
ert decided that he could do no better than 
to follow in the footsteps of his beloved par- 
ents, consecrating his talents to the uplift- 
ing of humanity. It was his privilege to re- 
ceive an excellent education, and in 1884 
he was graduated with honors at Maryville 
College. He then pursued a thorough 
course of study at Lane Theological Semi- 
nary, in which well known institution he 
was graduated in 1887. 

The first charge of the young minister 
was at Dayton, Tennessee, to which ])]ace 
he was sent by the New York Hoard of 
Missions. From the first he was blessed in 
his endeavors and his enthusiasm and earn- 
estness were the means of awakening the 



people to renewed enterprise and activity 
in all of the lines of their church work. Ere 
he left he had succeeded in getting his con- 
gregation to build a new church, of which 
they were in great need, and the same thing 
is true of his next pastorate, for, during the 
two years which he passed in charge of the 
Presbyterian church at Harriman. Tennes- 
see, a new house of worship was erected by 
his people. In 1893 he was elected moder- 
ator of the synod of Tennessee. 

The energy and general ability of Mr. 
Bartlett made many friends for him, both 
outside and inside his own denomination, 
while he was in the south, and in 1894 he 
received an urgent call to the pulpit of the 
Presbyterian church at Kingston, which, as 
it is well known, is one of the largest and 
most important churches in this section of 
the state. The same devotion to his work 
which he has shown ever since he entered 
u])on his noble vocation, is meeting with 
deserved success, and a most promising fu- 
ture may safely be predicted for him. He 
possesses the true missionary spirit and his 
devotion and self-sacrifice are matters of 
wonder to those who know him. In addi- 
tion to his regular work in his home church, 
he now preaches in the afternoon at Clarks- 
burg, where also he is greatly esteemed. 
He is also chairman of the home mission 
committee of Whitewater i^resbytery. 

In all his efforts to uplift and benefit hu- 
manity. Mr. Bartlett finds a true helpmate 
in his estimable wife, a lady of lovable 
Christian character and superior attain- 
ments. In her girlhood she bore the name 
of Minnie Dobson, and it was in Washing- 
ton College that she obtained her educa- 
tion. Her marriage to Mr. Bartlett was 
solemnized December 18, 1895. "They have 



250 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



two little ones, namely: IMiriam, born Jan- 
uary 30. 1897; and Robert Merrill, born 
December 23, 1898. 



WILLIAM T. HOOD. 

The history of pioneer development is 
always of interest, for progress and develop- 
ment ever form the theme of which the 
American citizen never tires. A region 
wild, unimproved, with barren prairies and 
unbroken forests as framed by the hand of 
nature affords ample opportunity to the 
early settler who would establish a home on 
the frontier. The arduous task of clearing 
away the trees that fields of grain may take 
their place is one demanding great energy 
and determination. In many other lines 
also the work of advancement and civiliza- 
tion must be carried forward in order that 
the new locality may rank with the older- 
settled districts. Mr. Hood is one who has 
always been an active factor in bringing 
about the great transformation in Decatur 
county, Indiana, and is not only numbered 
among the pioneers but is also one of the 
oldest native sons of the county. He was 
born in Washington township, November 
7, 183 1, and is a son of William and Isa- 
bella (Blair) Hood, both of whom were 
natives of Kentucky, in which state their 
marriage was celebrated. The paternal 
grandfather was a native of Scotland, and 
with his parents removed to Ireland and 
then came to America, prior to the war of 
the Revolution, .\fter residing in several 
localities he took u]) his residence in 
Pennsylvania, at an early day, and subse- 
quently went to Kentucky, where his last 
years were spent. There he reared his 



family and cultivated his farm, with the aid 
of negro labor. His children were Samuel, 
Stewart, John, \\'illiam, Adam, Ann, Man' 
and Jane. The parents were both members 
of the Presbyterian church. 

William Hood, the father of our subject, 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1791, but was 
reared to manhood and married in Ken- 
tucky. His wedding occurred in 181 5, 
after which he located on the farm, making 
his home there until 1824. when he came 
to Decatur county, Indiana, and entered 
from the government two hundred and 
forty acres of wild land. In the midst of an 
unbroken forest he developed a good farm, 
upon which he made his home for many 
years. Subsequently he removed to Greens- 
burg, but after a few years purchased an- 
other farm, near Clarksburg, Indiana. He 
was a successful agriculturist, and in con- 
nection with general farming he carries on 
stock-raising. His political support was 
originally given to the Whig party; later he 
became an advocate of the Free-soil party, 
and when the Republican party was formed 
he joined its ranks; but though he was 
deeply interested in political issues he never 
sought office. He served in the war of 
1812 and was with General W. H. Harrison 
in the Indian campaign in Indiana. He 
was an active factor in the material and 
moral development of this section of the 
Hoosier state and aided in organizing the 
L^nited Presbyterian church at Springhill, 
then known as the Associate Reformed 
church. This was established in 1825 and 
he was the last sur\'ivor who took part in 
its organization. He held the ofifice of elder 
of the church at one time and was acti\-e in 
promoting its work among the people of 
this locality. He was a man of strong con- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



251 



victions and neither fear nor favor could 
turn him from a course which he believed to 
he right. He occupied an advanced posi- 
tion in regard to slavery and temperance 
reform and was distinguished for his high 
standard of integrity and honor and for his 
charity. His first wife died in 1840, and 
the following year he wedded Jane Doug- 
lass. He died November 16. 1879, and 
four of his children survived him. Nellie 
A. died at the home of her brother Will- 
iam, in April, 1899; John died ^larch 20, 
i860, leaving a son, who is now a noted 
Presbyterian minister: Samuel, born in 
1823, died November 20, 1855: Mary J. 
became the wife of John Wiseman and died 
in 1858. leaving four children; Almira, born 
in 1827, is now the wife of Mr. Foley, a 
farmer; William T. is the sixth of the fam- 
ily; and Sarah K. is the widow of Dr. W. 
F. Riley, who served as senator. She now 
resides in Colorado. 

William Thomas Hood was born and 
reared on the old family homestead in 
Decatur county and yet owns a portion of 
this farm. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools and was early trained to habits 
of industry and economy. At the time of 
his marriage in 1859 his father gave him 
eighty acres of land, the greater part of 
which was cleared. He has built u])on the 
place commodious barns and outbuildings, 
has a pleasant home, and his farm is under 
a high state of cultivation, the fields in their 
dress of tender green in early spring giving 
promise of the golden harvests of autumn. 

Mr. Hood has been twice married. He 
wedded S. A. Ardery. a native of Decatur 
county and a daughter of James .\rder>', 
who belonged to a prominent family of 
Kentucky. Her death occurred September 



19, 1863. She was a member of the Pres- 
byterian church and had many friends in 
the community. In 1866 Mr. Hood 
wedded Martha A. liarnett, who was bom 
in Belmont county, Ohio, in August, 1840, 
a daughter of Jacob H. and Elizabeth 
(Grimes) Barnett. Her father died in 1842, 
and in 1844 the mother removed with her 
family to Iowa where her death occurred. 
One sister married and came to Decatur 
county to live, and not long afterward Mrs. 
Hood took up her residence in the home of 
this sister. There were nine children in the 
Barnett family, namely: Mrs. Eliza Mc- 
Cully; Mrs. Mary Reed; Milton, a resident 
of Iowa; Catharine, deceased; Caroline, 
wife of J. Antrobus; Rachel, wife of J. 
Cameron, who was a soldier in the civil war; 
Franklin, a fanner; Amy, wife of C. Mc- 
Cully; and Mrs. Martha Hood. The par- 
ents were both members of the ^Methodist 
church. Mr. and Mrs. Hood belong to the 
United Presbyterian church, and in his po- 
litical affiliations he is a stanch Republican, 
yet has never asi)ired to office, preferring to 
give his time and energy to his business af- 
fairs. 



PUTNAM EWING. 



The Ewing family is one of the oldest and 
most prominent in Decatur county, and a 
brief history of its origin in this country is 
worthy of presentation in a volume of this 
nature. Some time during the Revolu- 
tionary war, Patrick Ewing. who was of 
Scotch-Irish parentage, emigrated with his 
family to America. On the voyage a son 
was born to him who. in remembrance of a 
kindness shown to the father bv General 
Putnam, of Continental fame, was afterward 



352 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



named for that distinguished patriot. Pat- 
rick settled at Baltimore, Maryland, where 
he died, leaving four sons, — Samuel, Josh- 
ua, Nat and Putnam. The last mentioned 
remained in Maryland until some time after 
his marriage with Miss Jennie McLelland, 
and in 1806 removed to Bourbon county, 
Kentucky, where he died, in 1848, at the 
age of seventy-one years. 

A son of this Putnam Ewing was Patrick, 
who was the father of the Decatur county 
Ewings. He was born in Cecil county, 
Maryland, July 28, 1803, and was only three 
years old when his parents removed to Ken- 
tucky. He remained on his father's farm 
there until his marriage, September 5, 1826, 
to Miss Lydia Morgan, a daughter of Abel 
Morgan, a pioneer of Montgomery county. 
In October, 1828, he removed to Decatur 
county and settled in Clay township, four 
and one-half miles from Greensburg, where 
he entered a farm of eighty acres. He was 
very successful in his operations, became 
an extensive stock-raiser and at the time of 
his death was the owner of a section of land. 
His family numbered fifteen children, in- 
cluding triplets, of whom the subject of our 
sketch is one. All grew to manhood and 
womanhood and have been influential and 
worthy citizens. 

Patrick Ewing was a man of iron consti- 
tution and indomitable will, and was well 
fitted to become a pioneer. He had good 
judgment in business affairs, and this, com- 
bined with his great energy and untiring in- 
dustry, won him not only a handsome for- 
tune but a standing among his neighbors. 
He was a stanch Democrat and very de- 
cided in his political views, but never as- 
pired to office. He played an active part 
in the settlement of Decatur countv and will 



long be remembered, with his estimable 
wife, as among the most worthy of its pio- 
neers. Mr. Ewing died June 17, 1884, his 
wife surviving him until December 24, 1889. 
Putnam Ewing, son of Patrick, was one of 
triplets, bom near Greensburg, September 
8, 1833. Of the other two Joshua is de- 
ceased and Abel lives in Greensburg. Put- 
nam was reared on his father's farm and 
attended the common school of his district. 
He was unusually bright and intelligent, 
and was so popular in his community that 
he was elected recorder of the county be- 
fore he was twenty-one years old and was 
obliged to wait until he had attained his 
majority before he could qualify for the of- 
fice. He was the first recorder under the 
new court rules, the two offices of clerk and 
recorder being previously combined in one. 
He served for four years, from March, 1855. 
to March. 1859. In November of the lat- 
ter year, in conjunction with Squire Joslin, 
the sheriiY of the county, he bought prop- 
erty on Railroad street, in Greensburg. and 
engaged in the grain business. Later he 
added a grocery, and in 1861 the firm of 
Ewing & Foley was established, which for 
thirty years ranked as one of the most sub- 
stantial and reliable business houses in 
Greensburg. They had a large trade and 
were well and favorably known throughout 
the county. In 1891 the firm was dis- 
solved. Messrs. Hart and Froman buying 
out the interests of the two partners. 

In addition to his other business Mr. Ew- 
ing was from 1871 to 1892 agent for the 
railroad company at Greensburg. In the 
latter year he was made assistant cashier in 
the Third National Bank of that city, which 
l^ositinn he is now occupying. He also su- 
perintends a fine farm of three hundred and 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



253 



twenty acres, uhicli includes tlie old lumie- 
stead of eighty acres on wiiicli he was liorn. 
Mr. Ewing lias held many positions of 
honor and trust, and in every relation in 
life has shown himself a man of strong 
character and unimpeachable integrity. 
He served in the city council for nine or ten 
years and on the school hoard for three or 
four years. In 1899 he was ajjpointed by 
the judge of the circuit court as one of the 
members of the comity council, a new otitice 
created by the legislature. He is a mem- 
ber of the Christian church, to which his 
wife and mother also belonged, and takes 
an active interest in its affairs. 

Mr. Ewing was married in iSf)0 to .Mary 
De Ormond, of Decatur county, by whom 
he had one son, Patrick, who carries on 
farming on the old homestead. Mrs. Ew- 
ing died in February. 1861. and in the fall 
of 1863 Mr. Ewing again married, his sec- 
ond wife being Sarah .\. Hacklenian. of 
Kushvillc. Indiana, and a niece of Cieneral 
Fole\- of Greensburg. They have had two 
children, Mary who died when seventeen 
years old. and Charles H. The latter grad- 
nated from high school and entered the law 
department of the Michigan University, at 
.Ann .\rbor, graduating from there in 1897. 
Since that time he has been practicing his 
profession as a member of the firm of Ewing 
& Ewing. of which his uncle J. K. Ewing is 
the senior jiartncr. lie is a young man of 
iiiuch promise and bids f;iir to ni;untain the 
higli stan<ling of tlie l-lwing family. 



(iEORdl-: L. ROIU'-RTS. 

Cjeorge L. Roberts, who is an esteemed 
citizen of Greensburg, is also a po]nilar and 
able educator, and enjoys more than a state 



reputation in his profession. He is of 
Scotch-Welsh descent and is the son of 
William and Sarah (Christie) Roberts, born 
November 19, i860, near Adams, Decatur 
countv . His grandfather, John Roberts, 
came with two brothers from Wales to this 
country when children, and the family 
finally settled near Madison, JefYerson 
count}-. Indiana, at a very early day, before 
the territory had been formed into a state. 
He was one of the pioneer Baptists of that 
section, and followed farming for many 
years. He spent a busy and useful life, 
passing away in 1874, at an advanced age. 
He married Jane Salyers and reared a fam- 
ily of eleven children, seven sons and four 
daughters. 

The father of Professor Roberts was born 
February 2, 1827, near Madison, and made 
his home in Jefferson county until 1850, 
when he removed to Decatur county and set- 
tled near Adams, where he carried on farm- 
ing the remainder of his life. He died Sep- 
tember 5, 1891. In his early days he taught 
school for several years. He was a man of 
quiet disposition, and although positive in 
his political and religious views never in- 
truded his opinions in an offensive manner. 
He was originally a member of the Baptist 
denomination, but in his later years became 
connected with the Christian church. In 
l)olitics he was a Democrat. His wife, to 
whom he was married in 1848. is still living. 
She is the inotlier of four children, the only 
daughter dying in childhood. The .sons 
are: John W.. engaged in the insurance 
business in Greensburg: George I-.: and 
Isaac H.. a farmer and stock-raiser in Kan- 
sas. 

The boyhood of Professor Roberts was 
spent on his father's farm, and after several 



254 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



years of study in common and private 
schools he became a teaclier. at the age of 
eighteen years. He followed that occupa- 
tion for fourteen years, and then entered the 
State University, at Blonmington, from 
which he was graduated in iSi;4, with the 
degree of Bachelor of Art>. lie was prin- 
cipal of the high school in Lireenshurg for 
ten years, and on the death of the former 
superinten.dent, W. P. Shannon, he was 
made superintendent of the city schools, on 
January i, 1898. Mr. Roberts has done a 
great deal of institute work in the several 
counties of the state, and for years has at- 
tended all the sessions of the State Teach- 
ers' Association, of which organization he is 
a member. He has also been a member of 
the executive committee, and at this writ- 
ing is president of the mathematical section 
of the association. During the prosecution 
of his course at the university he was in- 
structor in botany. He is a leading mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
has been superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school and is now a member of the Ijoard of 
stewards. 

For the ])ast five years Professor Rob- 
erts has, in conjunction with Charles T. 
Powner, conducted a summer normal 
school for the training of teachers, review 
work and methods of teaching, he having 
special charge of the science work. The 
school has been well attended, and has ac- 
complished much good in its various lines. 
Socially he is a charter member of Greens- 
burg Lodge, No. 148, Knights of Pythias, 
in which he has filled all the chairs. He 
served for two years as district deputy grand 
chancellor, and for the past two years has 
been chairman of the committee on foreign 
correspondence in the grand lodge. 



On November 19, 1884, Professor Rob- 
erts was married to Miss Olive Linch, of 
Adams, and two children, Paul and Miriam, 
have been born to them. The family is 
held in high esteem in the community. 
Personally Professor Roberts is a highly 
cultured, scholarly man, genial in his man- 
ners and a fine con\-ersationalist. He is in 
the prime of life, and has a bright future 
before him. 



HON. WILLIAM CUM BACK, A. M. 

In the life history of the Hon. William 
Cumback, a prominent and loved citizen of 
Greensburg, there is much of interest and 
inspiration, both to the old and young. 
Temperance and sound common-sense hav- 
ing guided him in his daily habits since his 
boyhood, he now finds himself, though just 
across the border line of "three-score and 
ten," in the enjoyment of unimpaired vigor 
of mind and body, and with promise of 
many years of usefulness. Probably no 
citizen of the great state of Indiana has 
been more widely known for the past forty 
_\ears or more, and certain it is that there 
are few of her native-born sons of whom 
she has more reason to be proud. 

His parents, John and Elsie Cumback, 
who came to this state from New Jersey, 
about 1820, were among the pioneers of 
Franklin county, where they cleared and 
improved a small farm. They were up- 
right, industrious people, respected by 
every one, but their means were small and 
they could do but little in the way of giv- 
ing their children educational opportuni- 
ties or financial assistance. William Cum- 
back was born in this humble though happy 
home, March 24, 1829, and as soon as he 




J^l^C^ ^^ 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



257 



was old enough he aided his father in the 
laborious task of preparing the land for 
cultivation. As may be inferred, the pub- 
lic schools at that early day in this region 
were nothing of which to boast, but young 
Cumback was ambitious, and determined to 
have an education. One season he rented 
some land, raised a crop, and hauled it 
thirty miles in wagons, to Cincinnati. The 
money he thus obtained he then invested in 
books, tuition and living expenses, while 
he attended Miami University, at Oxford, 
Ohio, twelve miles distant from his father's 
iiomcstead. During the six nionlhs spent 
in this institution he cooked his own meals 
in his own room, rang the college bell and 
performed other services to eke out his 
slender capital, and actually expended only 
fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents! 
How many of the youth of to-day can point 
to a similar record?' It needs no ])roi)hetic 
gift to predict ultimate success to a young- 
man of such pluck and perseverance, and the 
lessons of economy, industry and patience 
then mastered by him must have had a last- 
ing intluence for good ujjon his character. 
Sui)sec|uently he taught school, after which 
he returned to the university and spent sev- 
eral terms there, standing at the head of his 
classes. 

In 1853 Mr. Cund)ack started ui)on the 
work to which he has since given his chief 
energy, — the law. .\fter some preparation, 
he entered the Cincinnati Law School, 
where he remained for a term, then coming 
to Greensburg. where, in 1833. he estab- 
lished an office and entered upon a jiractice 
which was large and remunerative almost 
from the first. Sunnning up his legal ca- 
reer in a few words, it mav bo justlv sai<I 
that there has hardlv l)een ;i case of anv 



importance tried before either the civil or 

criminal courts of this county (save when 
he was employed in the service of the gov- 
ernment) during the past forty or forty-five^ 
years, that he has not been retained as coun- 
sel upon one side or the other. He spares 
himself no pains in the thorough prepara- 
tion of a case, and, having outlined his plan 
of procedure, is alert and keen in the pre- 
sentment of his arguments, and generallv 
carries conviction to the minds of judge and 
jury. His great talent as a si)caker, 
amounting ofttimes to wonderful elo- 
quence, is used in the defense of tlie ])oor 
and op])ressed. and from jiis Noutb be lia> 
been noted for bis absolute integrity and 
fairness. 

As early as 1854 Mr. Cund)ack was hon- 
ored by being nominated and elected as a 
representative of the F'ourth congressional 
district of Indiana in congress, his opponent 
being the well known Hon. William S. Hol- 
man, later called the "watch-dog of the 
treasury." Having barely attained the 
requisite age to admit him to .serve as a 
member of the house of representatives, our 
subject had the further distinction of being 
the youngest member of the thirty-fourth 
congress. Nevertheless, he was so faithful 
to the interests of his constituents, and 
made so excellent a record in every respect, 
several of his speeches in congress attract- 
ing widespread attention, that his constitu- 
ents felt entirely .satisfied as to the wisdom 
of their choice. 

Many and substantial have been the hon- 
ors bestowed upon Mr. Cumback, but 
above them all, in his estimation, was that 
of being elected on the Republican ticket, 
in i860, as elector-at-large, whereby he was 
in a position to cast the first Republican 



358 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



electoral vote of this state for Abraham 
Lincoln as president of the United States. 
His special adaptation as a stnmp speaker 
led to his being in great demand in all 
political campaigns for years, his fine pres- 
ence, strong and well modnlated voice, and 
stirring oratory and sonnd argument car- 
rying immense weight with the people. 
During the campaign of i860, above men- 
tioned, he stumped the entire state of Indi- 
ana, and thus came into direct contact with 
the masses, who gave him an enthusiastic 
welcome wherever he went. 

As might have lieen expected of so ard- 
ent a patriot, so strong an advocate of anti- 
slavery, Mr. Cumback enlisted at the first 
tap of the drum, after Fort Sumter was fired 
upon, becoming a private of the Seventh 
Indiana \'olunteers. To his surprise, he 
was soon called to the post of paymaster, 
by appointment of the president, and so 
efficiently discharged his duties that he was 
assigned as superintendent of one of the 
largest divisions of the army. At the close 
of the war, he was brevetted for faithful ser- 
vice, and Edwin M. Stanton, on behalf of 
the war department, offered him a position 
for life in the regular army. This was de- 
clined by Mr. Cumback, who was mustered 
out of the service at his urgent request, in 
order to once more devote himself to his 
loved profession. As an unanswerable 
proof of his accuracy and general ability, it 
may be stated that, though over sixty mil- 
lion dollars were disbursed by him during 
the stormy war period, he made all of his 
final settlement with the government within 
three days, a thing that no other official in 
like position has even been able to do. 

Though he resumed his accustomed 
practice in Greensburg in 1865, Mr. Cum- 



back was not long permitted to lead a pri- 
\-ate life, for the ensuing year he was nomi- 
nated and elected to the Indiana senate. 
During the first session thereafter, Gov- 
ernor Morton laeing elected to the United 
States senate and the lieutenant governor 
becoming go\-.ernor, Mr. Cumback was 
chosen to preside as president of the senate, 
which he did with dignity. While in the 
senate he drew up the bill for the establish- 
ment of a reform school for boys, and as a 
result of this wise measure the Plainfield 
school, now one of the finest and most suc- 
cessful institutions of the state, came into 
existence. In 1868, after a hotly contested 
election, he was installed as lieutenant gov- 
ernor of Indiana. He had made a vigorous 
campaign and received the highest vote of 
any one on his ticket. The popularity of 
Mr. Cumback was steadily in the ascendant, 
and it was no surprise to anybody when he 
was the overwhelming choice for the 
United States senatorship in 1869, being 
the "caucus" nominee on the first ballot 
(having fifty-two out of se\^enty-six votes), 
but a few chagrined politicians organized a 
"bolt," the result of which was that he was 
defeated by only two votes. His Repub- 
lican friends were so justly indignant at this 
underhand measure, that they ostracized 
from the party every man who had partici- 
pated in it. 

Without any solicitation on the part of 
Mr. Cumback, President Grant appointed 
him minister to Portugal, in 1870; the sen- 
ate promptly confirmed the choice, and the 
commission was sent to him, but it was 
declined. The following year, the president 
offered him an oiTice as collector of internal 
re\enue, which he concluded to accept, and 
during the twelve years of his service in 



DECATUR COl-NTV. 



this important place he collected over 
thirty-seven million dollars, without having 
one dollar lost to the government by mis- 
take or fraud. During the administration 
of President Harrison he was chosen to 
serve as one of the commissioners having 
in charge the treaty with the Puyallup In- 
dians, but he was obliged to decline to act, 
on account of private business affairs. Re- 
cently. ex-Secretary John Sherman wished 
to appoint him as an arbitrator in the 
trouble between this country and the 
I'nited States of Colombia. South America. 
imt Mr. Cumback deemed it best to refuse 
the hnnur, owing to the fact that all of the 
evidence submitted to the commission must 
necessarily be in Spanish, and he did not 
think it wise to trust to an interpreter in an 
affair of such importance. 

yuite naturally, as the outcome of his 
long years of experience. — as a servant of 
the people, as a jirofessional man, and as a 
keen observer of men and events, — Mr. 
Cumback has drifted into the lecture held 
of late years. He has delivered lectures on 
a variety of subjects, in nearly every state in 
the Union, and he as well as the large 
audiences which always assembled to hear 
him thoroughly enjoyed the open discus- 
sion of the topics engaging their attention. 
.\ true friend to humanity, he has had as his 
chief aim in life a genuine desire to amdior- 
ate the wrongs and evils that oppress us as 
a race, and to make war upon the factors 
that destroy the hapi)iness of multitudes. 
Many of his lectures have been of an ethical 
nature, and he has published a book on 
"Society and Life."' which has met with 
much favor. His interest in education for 
the masses has been unwavering, and for 
a long period he has been one of the trus- 



tees of DePauw University. The Miami 
University conferred upon him the degree 
of Master of Arts, and subsequently De- 
Pauw University bestowed ujKjn him the 
degree of Doctor of Laws. More than 
two-score years have rolled away since he 
became connected with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, in which he served 
as grand master of the state, and for three 
years was a representative in the sovereign 
grand lodge of Indiana. 

Religiously, Mr. Cumback is a Methodist, 
and on three occasions has been a lay dele- 
gate to the general Methodist Episcopal 
conference. In 1S7S he was ap])ointed as 
a fraternal delegate to the general confer- 
ence of the Methodist Kpiscojjal church, 
south, and made an address to that assem- 
blage, at Atlanta. Georgia. To him more 
than to almost anyone else is attributed the 
fact that, in 1898. equal repre.sentation from 
the laity of the church was conceded by the 
general conference of Methodist bodies. 
In this, as in all avenues of usefulness, he 
believes that the mass of the people should 
be actively represented, and that distinc- 
tions of class and capital should not be 
made. 

In 1852 the marriage of Mr. Cumback 
.ind Martha Ilurlbut was solemnized. She 
was a lady of excellent attainments, her 
higher studies having been pursued in the 
Western Female College, where she was 
graduated. The only daughter born to 
this worthy couple is Ella, wife of John \V. 
Lovett. one of the leading members of the 
.\nderson (Indiana) bar. Louis and Clar- 
ence died many years ago. and William is a 
member of the wholesale hardware firm of 
H. T. Conde & Company, of Indianapolis. 
Mrs. Cumback, who was a lady beloved by 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



all who knew her, died February 9, 1899, 
leaving a multitude of sincere friends who 
deeply mourn her loss. 



MRS. MARY E. McMILLEN HARPER. 

Among the honored citizens of Sardinia 
none holds a higher place in the esteem of 
the people than the lady whose name heads 
this sketch, and whose husband, the late 
James S. Harper, was so closely allied with 
all the interests of Decatur county. Death 
loves a shining mark, and in this instance 
his victim was one whose loss was irrepara- 
ble in his home, in the social circles, and in 
the community in whose business affairs he 
had played such a prominent part. A brief 
sketch of his career in connection with that 
of his wife will prove of value in an histori- 
cal work of this description. 

James S. Harper was born April 24, 1830, 
near Riley, Butler county, Ohio, where he 
was reared on a farm. He learned the 
trade of shoemaker, but, making a visit to 
Decatur county, Indiana, in 1854, his at- 
tention was called to the opportunities for 
a good investment, and before his return 
home he purchased an interest with John 
McCormick in the dry-goods and general 
merchandising business at Sardinia. Two 
years later he bought out his partner, and 
also established a branch store at Burns- 
ville, in connection with John Cunningham, 
which he carried on for over two years. He 
then enlarged his building and increased his 
stock at Sardinia, at the same time opening 
a store at Sardinia Crossing, where he be- 
came interested in a stone quarry. These 
ventures were all successful, and he became 
the most extensive merchant and prominent 



business man in that section of the state. 
In 1 86 1 he remodeled his store in order to 
accommodate the largely increasing pro- 
portions of his trade, making of it a con- 
venient and commodious building, two 
stories in height and fifty by one hundred 
feet in size. In addition to the interests 
already mentioned he owned a number of 
farms in Decatur county, as well as in Kan- 
sas and other states, and a large amount of 
property in Sardinia. 

Mr. Harper was a man of unusual execu- 
tive ability, farseeing and almost unfailing 
in his judgment of men and things, fearless 
in the magnitude and scope of his opera- 
tions, and, indeed, a prince of financiers. 
Perhaps the greatest enterprise of his life 
was when, in 1888, he joined a syndicate 
composed of seven other men besides him- 
self, from New York, Boston and Chicago, 
for the purpose of awakening interest in 
southern property. They purchased three 
thousand acres of land in northern Georgia, 
on which they selected a beautiful site for 
a town, over one thousand feet above sea 
level. There they platted the ground, 
made an artificial lake fed from a creek and 
mountain springs, and founded the well- 
known health resort of Demorest, so called 
in honor of J. Demorest, the publisher of 
the popular Democratic magazine in New 
York city. In less than two years it was a 
thriving place of five hundred inhabitants, 
with hotels, banks, three or four factories, 
foundries, machine works. — the Southern 
Novelty Works, — and is now a flourishing 
city and an important station on the Rich- 
mond & Danville Railroad. Doubtless one 
cause of its prosperity, aside from its de- 
lightful climate and invigorating air, is the 
fact that no saloon has ever been allowed 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



261 



within its limits. Mr. Harper invested 
over twenty thousand dollars in this project, 
and lived to see his hopes reti:arding it 
realized. 

In 1855, a year after settling in business 
in Decatur county, Mr. Harjjer returned to 
Ohio, and was there married to Miss Maria 
Munson, bringing his bride to his new home 
in Indiana. Their wedded happiness was 
of short duration, for less than a year later 
she was laid to rest in the cemetery. On 
July 10, 1856, Mr. Harper was married to 
Mary E. McMillen, who was his loving and 
faithful companion until they were sepa- 
rated by his death. May 12, 1896. 

In 1876 Mr. Harper built an elegant and 
commodious residence at Sardinia, costing 
over eighteen thousand dollars, and here 
he spent his last years in hapi)y leisure, 
surrounded by every comfort and luxury, 
and the reci])ient of such universal honor 
and friendship as seldom falls to the lot of 
man. In his personal attributes he had 
many conunendable traits. He was a man 
of most genial disposition, full of humor, 
fond of social intercourse, a great lover of 
children, and was never so happy as when 
surrounded in his home by those he loved. 
Although so deeply immersed in business 
he never forgot the claims of religion, and 
faithfully performed his duties as a Chris- 
tian, not the least of which is to visit the 
fatherless and the widmv. His heart and 
hand were ever open to the needy and suf- 
fering, and when a certain sum of money 
was needed for church or benevolent ])ur- 
poses it was his custom to tell those in 
charge of the matter to raise what they 
could and he would supply the deficiency, — 
this in many cases being almost the entire 
amount. A devoted member of the Pres- 



byterian church, he gave not only financial 
aid but .sym])athy and encouragement, and 
his house was always made the home of 
traveling ministers. He was broad-minded 
and charitable in the fullest meaning of the 
words, never refusing help to the worthy 
poor, and often allowing them to take 
goods when he knew that there was no 
prospect of payment. In matters pertain- 
ing to the community be was public- 
spirited, and always ready to assist in any 
enterprise which had for its object the up- 
building of his town and county. In busi- 
ness relations his integrity was never 
doubted and his character was beyond re- 
proach. 

For se\-eral years ])re\ious to his death 
Mr. Harper found rest and recreation from 
his business cares in travel, and visited Col- 
orado, the Pacific coast and New Mexico, 
also spending much time in Florida, where 
he had important interests, and in other 
southern states. Politicallv Mr. Harper 
was a Democrat, and though fre(|uently 
urged to accept a nomination for ofiice 
would never allow his name to be used. 

Mr. Harper comes of a prominent and 
influential family of Ohio, his father, Joseph 
Harper, being an influential and wealthy 
farmer of P)Utler county, and his mother an 
eastern lady of culture and refinement. 
They had four children: Joseph, who re- 
sides in Indianapolis, Indiana; James S. ; 
Francis, who died in Boone county, Indi- 
ana: and Mary, Mrs. M. DeCamp, who 
died in Reilly, Ohio, 

Mrs. James S. Harper was born in Mount 
X'ernon, Ohio. March 28, 1835, and was the 
daughter of James H. and Mary (Richard- 
-son) McMillen. Her father was a native of 
Ohio, and was the son of John and Mar- 



263 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



garet (Hopkins) McMillen, the former of 
Scotch descent. Her mother was born in 
Pennsylvania. John McMillen was a 
school-teacher in early life, and died in 
Ohio; and his wife died in Iowa. They 
were consistent members of the Presbyte- 
rian church. On the Richardson side of the 
family there were eight children, as follows: 
Mary, the mother of Mrs. Harper; Jacob; 
Rachel, Mrs. Valley; Margret, Mrs. Julian; 
Catharine, twin of Margret, became Mrs. 
Reed ; William, the operator of a coal mine ; 
Hannah. Mrs. \V. Moore: and Eliza, Mrs. 
Evans. The family are all meml^ers of the 
Methodist church. 

Mrs. Harper's father removed to Cincin- 
nati when she was only two years old. He 
was there engaged in the manufacture of 
sash and blinds, which business he followed 
for some years, becoming a well-to-do and 
popular citizen. He served several terms 
as sheriff of Hamilton county, and later was 
postmaster and justice of the peace. In 
1852 he removed to Columbus, Indiana, 
then to Burnsville, and finally settled in 
Sardinia, where he died. During this time 
he was a contractor, a school-teacher and a 
clerk in Mr. Harper's store. After his 
death, August 19, 1870, his wife made her 
home with Mrs. Harper, where her last 
days were peacefully spent, she passing 
away in May, 1883. This worthy couple 
were members of the Presbyterian church. 
They had three children: Eliza J., Mrs. T. 
M. Thompson, of Cincinnati: Mary E., the 
subject of this sketch: and Matilda A., who 
died in childhood. 

Mrs. Harper has shared with her honored 
husband the love and esteem of the com- 
munity in which they so long made their 
home. Like him, she has been active in all 



good works, sympathizing with him in his 
ei^orts to follow the golden rule. Con- 
genial in their tastes and habits, they great- 
ly enjoyed each other's companionship, not 
only in the domestic circle, but also in the 
many pleasant journeys they took together. 
None but those who have been left alone, 
as is Mrs. Harper, can realize her lonely 
condition, for the only child born to this 
union, Ella May, born May 15, 1857, lived 
but a brief eight years and nine months, 
dying Fel)ruary 27, 1866; and since her 
beloved husband and revered mother have 
passed away she is without any near rela- 
tive. However, she finds consolation in the 
thought that there is a life beyond, where 
she will be reunited, and fills up her time in 
doing what her hands find to do for the 
happiness of others. 



ROBERT ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

More than a century ago Washington 
said: "Agriculture is the most healthful, 
most useful and most noble employment of 
man; " and the remark is as true to-day as 
when spoken. There is no employment 
which on an average is more profitable than 
agriculture when well understood: yet not 
ever)- man may make a success of this call- 
ing, which demands intelligence and thor- 
ough preparation as much as any other vo- 
cation. Mr. Hamilton, however, who was 
well trained in the business methods of the 
farm and in the conduct of liis agricultural 
interests, has met with creditable prosperity. 
He is a representative of one of the oldest 
and most honored families of Decatur 
county, and no history of this section of the 
state would be complete without the record 
of his life. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



A native of Kentucky, he was born in 
Nicholas county, July 22. 1821, and the fol- 
lowing year was brought by his parents to 
Indiana. He is a son of James ICward 
Hamilton, and his grandfather. Robert 
Hamilton, was a son of William Hamilton. 
The last named came to this country from 
the north of Ireland about the middle of 
the eighteenth century and took up his 
abode in Pennsylvania. The Hamiltons 
were of Scotch-Irish lineage, and of the 
Presbyterian faith. Tradition says that 
long years ago they were driven from Scot- 
land to Ireland at the time when the Pro- 
testants were bitterly persecuted by the 
Catholics in the land of hills and heather. 
William Hamilton married Isabella Thomp- 
son. Some years afterward he took up his 
abode in Pennsylvania. The work of set- 
tlement began in Kentucky, and with his 
wife and three sons, Robert, Thomas and 
Samuel, he removed to the latter state, lo- 
cating at McBride's Creek, in Bourbon 
county, where he died a few years later. 

Mr. Hamilton, whose name heads this 
sketch, was also a descendant of the Eward 
family. James Eward and his wife Eliza- 
beth, with their two daughters, Nancy and 
Jane, emigrated from Ireland about the 
same time the Hamiltons came to this coun- 
try, and after spending a few years in 
Pennsylvania removed to \'irginia, locating 
near Augusta. There the family was in- 
creased by the birth of four children. — 
Mary, Jane, Sarah and Ellen, .\bout 1780 
the parents started with their little ones for 
Kentucky, but while on the journey 
through the wilderness the father died. The 
wife and mother, a woman of resolute pur- 
pose, continued until she reached her des- 
tination and after living for a short period in 



Lexington, Kentucky, removed to Taylor's 
Creek, in Bourbon county. It was there 
that the two Scotch-Irish families, the Ham- 
iltons and Ewards, were connected through 
the marriage of Robert Hamilton and Mary 
Eward, which event occurred June 9, 1794. 
Their descendants came to Indiana and es- 
tablished here one of the most prominent 
families of Decatur county. 

Robert Hamilton was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, June 17, 1768, before the state gov- 
ernment of Kentucky was formed, and 
while the Indians were yet causing great 
trouble with the white settlers "on the dark 
and bloody ground" he went to Kentucky 
and became identified with its agricultural 
interests. He never sought or desired po- 
litical office, but was often called upon to 
aid in settling disputed land claims. When 
the war of 1812 broke out he recruited a 
company of Kentucky riflemen, of which he 
was elected captain, and on the 20th of Sep- 
tember of that year he wrote to his wife 
from \'incenncs. in the territory of Indiana, 
giving an account of the march of his com- 
pany to that post and their muster into the 
United States service, under command of 
Major General Samuel Hopkins. From 
Vincennes they marched against Shawnee, 
Prophetstown and other Indian villages on 
the Illinois ri\er. and on the expiration of 
their term of service the members of this 
compan\- were discharged and sent home. 
Robert Hamilton was not only a loyal sol- 
dier and an enterprising farmer, but was 
also a consistent Christian gentleman, and 
died firm in his faith in the Creator and the 
future destiny of man. He died June 17. 
18 1 7. and was buried in the Concord 
churchyard in Nicholas county. Kentucky. 

His wife, Marv Eward Hamilton, was 



264 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



born in Virginia, in 1774, and died at the 
home of her son, R. M. Hamilton, four 
miles east of Greensburg, Indiana, March 
15, 1848, after living a widow nearly thirty- 
one years. She was buried in the Kingston 
cemetery. She was perhaps the best known 
of all the pioneer women of Decatur county, 
and greatly esteemed for her kindliness and 
her many noble qualities. In early life she 
was a member of the Baptist church, but 
after her marriage she became a member of 
the Presbyterian church, and was always 
careful to instruct her children in Christian 
teachings and principles. She also trained 
them to habits of industry and economy, 
and in her family of eleven sons and daugh- 
ters were displayed many of the strong 
characteristics which made herself and her 
husband prominent and honored people of 
the localities in which they resided. All of 
the children grew to maturity, the youngest 
being thirty-two years old at the time of 
death, and the eldest, eighty-six. The rec- 
ord of thisfamily is as follows: James Eward, 
born March 30, 1795, married Jane McCoy 
November 5, 1818, and died January 13. 
1 881; Fidelia, born September 18, 1796, 
was married in 1816, to Elijah Mitchell, and 
died in Iowa, in July, i860; Thomas, born 
August 25, 1798, died June 16, 1880; Cy- 
rus, born July 14, 1800, died August 19, 
1879; Spicy G., born October 12, 1802, 
became the wife of John Thompson, and 
died December 22, 1838; Eliza E., born 
November 11, 1804, died December 20, 
1880; Ellen E., born September 12, 1806, 
became the wife of 13arton Stone McCoy, 
and died September 26, 1832; Sarah, bom 
April 14. 1809, married Thomas Donnell. 
and died Januar}- 5, 1891 ; Robert Marshall, 
born November 17, 181 1, is now Hving in 



Washington township, Decatur county; 
Mary Jane, born November 15, 1814, mar- 
ried Jackson Lowe, and died in December, 
1890; Minerva, born January 2, 1817, be- 
came the wife of P. J. Bartholomew, and 
after his death wedded J. C. Donnell. She 
is still living. 

After the death of Robert Hamilton, the 
father of this family, the management of the 
Kentucky farm and the care of the family 
fell largely upon James E. Hamilton, the 
eldest son, and he continued to manage the 
place until after his marriage, when his 
brothers, Cyrus and Thomas, took charge 
of the old homestead and carried on the 
work until Cyrus was married. In March, 
1822, James E. and Cyrus Hamilton, with 
their wives, who were sisters, and the two 
children of James (Philander and Robert 
A.) left Kentucky and came to Indiana. On 
the iith of March they unloaded their 
goods by the side of a large poplar log, in 
the then unbroken forest, near the site of 
the residence of the late James E. 
Hamilton. There they erected a l)ark shel- 
ter, which served as a protection for these 
people until a cabin could be erected. Into 
this the Hamilton families moved, and in a 
short time a log cabin was also built for Cy- 
rus Hamilton, the neighbors for miles 
arovuid coming to assist in this work. In 
1823 the mother and the other members of 
the family also arrived in Decatur county, 
the son Thomas preceding them in order 
to prepare a home for them. Since that 
time representatives of the family have been 
actively and honorably identified with var- 
ious business interests, but have been par- 
ticularly prominent in agricultural cir- 
cles. 

James Eward Hamilton, the eldest of the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



family, married Jane McCoy, and in addi- 
tion to the two children. Philander and 
Robert A., who were bom to them in Ken- 
tucky, they became the parents of five other 
children, namely: Margaret, who was bom 
October ii, 1823, married William M. Mc- 
Coy, w^ho died December 8, 1881, and she 
May 9, 1897; Nancy, born March 19, 1828, 
became the wife of Jacob C. Adams, who 
died February 15, 1881; Mary E. was born 
March 9, 1828; James M., bom December 
24, 1833, died in July. 1834; and Fidelia, 
bom August I, 1837, became the w'ife of 
Michael Sefton, who died in June. 1869, after 
which she married Charles Buchanan, now 
of Boone county, Indiana. James E. Ham- 
ilton, the father of this family, took great 
pride in his vocation of farming, and not 
only won success for himself but also aided 
his children in getting a start in life, and 
left at his death a large estate. He never 
speculated or earned a dollar in an illegiti- 
mate way, but through the avenue of hon- 
orable business methods he gained a hand- 
some competence. He was also deeply 
interested in whatever he believed would 
prove a benefit to the community, and gave 
his support liberally to such measures. In 
•835. when the first effort was made to build 
the railroad from Lawrenceburg to Indian- 
apolis, he was a liberal subscriber to its 
stock, and again in 1848. when the scheme 
was revived, he purchased considerable 
stock, advanced money on its bonds, also 
canvassed the country in its interests, and 
for a number of years serxed as a director 
of the road. He was a broad-minded, en- 
terprising and public-spirited man, in whom 
the poor and needy always found a friend. 
His integrity was proverbial, and his hon- 
esty in all business transactions made his 



reputation in commercial circles an unas- 
sailable one. His wife was a daughter of 
Alexander and Nancy Cami)bell McCoy, 
who were descended from the famous 
Campbell family of Scotland, so illustrious 
in history. Mrs. Hamilton devoted her 
life to her home and the interests of her 
husljand and children. Her Christian ex- 
ample, as well as teachings, had a marked 
influence upon the lives of her sons and 
daughters. She died in 1851, and her 
death was deeply mounied throughout the 
community. 

In 1854 Mr. Hamilton was again married, 
his second union being with Rosanna Mc- 
Coy, a cousin of his first wife. He died 
January 13, 1881. and his wife survived him 
several years, during which time she re- 
mained on the old family homestead. His 
eldest son. Philander, was born in Nicholas 
county, Kentucky, September 20, 1819, and 
when a lad suffered an injury whereby he 
was crippled for life. He pursued his edu- 
cation under the instruction of J. (i. May. 
in the old Decatur County Seminary, and 
there prepared for entrance into Hanover 
College, in which institution he was gradu- 
ated with the honors of his class. He then 
taught school for a short time in Bloom- 
field, Kentucky, and in 1S41 was ])rincipal 
of the Decatur County Seminary. The 
following year he edited the Decatur Senti- 
nel, and during that time studied law under 
the instruction of Judge Davidson, of 
Greensburg, and was admitted to the bar at 
the spring term of the circuit court in 1843, 
on a certificate of examination and legal 
qualifications made by Judge M. E. Eggles- 
ton and James Perry. Immediately there- 
after he began practice, and before his death 
had attained honorable distinction in the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



legal profession. In politics he was a Whig 
and an anti-slavery man of the Horace 
Greeley type. He represented his county in 
the legislature in 1846-7, and 1847-8, and 
was one of the most efficient members ever 
sent to the house from this locality, his 
arguments always winning support for the 
measure he advocated. He died at his 
father's home March 5, 1849, i" the midst 
of a prominent career. 

Robert A. Hamilton, whose name begins 
this review, though born in Kentucky, was 
reared in Decatur county, and since 1822 
has made his home on the land given by his 
father. He experienced all the hardships 
and difficulties of pioneer life, learned to 
clear land, make rails, and did all kinds of 
farm work. He has always carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits and stock-raising, and his 
efforts have been crowned with a high and 
merited degree of success. His educational 
privileges were only such as the pioneer 
schools of the time afforded, and he pursued 
his studies only through the winter season, 
his services being needed on the home farm 
in the summer months. He assisted his 
father until twenty-seven years of age, when 
he married Miss Susan Saunders, who was 
born in this county, April 5, 1828, a daugh- 
ter of James and Cynthia (Hall) Saunders, 
both natives of Nicholas county, Kentucky, 
where their marriage occurred. In 1821 
they came to Indiana, and the father entered 
land where the town of Clarksburg now 
stands. He made good improvements on 
the place, and after twelve years sold the 
property and purchased a tract of land 
southwest of Greensburg, where he devel- 
oped a good farm. In 1855, however, he 
removed to Iowa, where his death occurred, 
July 7, 1864. His wife passed away in De- 



catur county, at the home of her daughter 
Susan, April 28, 1873. 

In politics he was a stanch Whig, and his 
influence in political matters was very 
marked. He filled many positions of trust 
and honor, represented his county in the 
state legislature, served as county treasurer, 
and was also justice of the peace. He was 
a captain of militia during the days of gen- 
eral muster, and was long a recognized lead- 
er in public thought and action. He pos- 
sessed more than ordinary intelligence, and 
was a gentleman of many social qualities, of 
genial manner and kindly disposition, and 
won the friendship and regard of all with 
whom he came in contact. He possessed 
excellent business ability, and not only suc- 
cessfully conducted his farm but also at- 
tended to much legal business for his neigh- 
bors, writing wills, etc., and had much con- 
fidential work. He was a member of the 
Christian church, although the others of his 
family were Presbyterians. His children 
were nine in number. James Newton, who 
was highly educated, became a Presbyte- 
rian minister, his first charge being at 
Evansville. Indiana. Later he was pastor of 
a church in Louisville, Kentucky, and subse- 
quently he served in the Bloomfield (Ken- 
tucky) church for more than thirty years, 
his noble Christian example having marked 
influence in the affairs of that community. 
Henry, who served in the civil war as a 
captain in an Iowa regiment, died in Iowa. 
William, who was a student in college at 
the time of the Mexican war, entered the 
army, and was killed at the storming of the 
city of Mexico. Robert is now an agricul- 
turist of Iowa. Susan is the wife of our 
subject. Miles, who was educated in Ken- 
tucky, was pastor of the Presbyterian 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



267 



church in Springfield, that state, for thirty- 
five years, and is now servint;- as a mission- 
ary among the nimnitainoors of Kentncky. 
He is a man of hrilliaiit mind, oi a de\'oted 
Christian cliaracter anil labors earnestly to 
uplift his fellowmen. Eliza is the wife of 
Paschal T. Lambert. Hughes died at the 
age of twenty-one years; and Mary was the 
wife of Calvin Kelsey. who also was a cap- 
lain in .in Iowa regiment in the civil war, 
and died of cholera in Cairo, Illinois. She 
afterward married Mr. llendrix, a fanner, 
liy tiiis marriage of Mr, and -Mrs. K. .\. 
ilainihon six children were born, four of 
wlioni died in infancy, the others being 
Inez and James Henry. The former is the 
wife of Judge Daniel Wait Howe, who was 
a captain in an Ituliana regiment during 
I be ei\il war. and i> the autlior (jf "The 
I'liriian Republic." The ciiildren of this 
union were Ruth. Lucy and Susan. James 
Henry graduated at Hanover College in 
1885, and after studying in the L'niversity 
of Halle and Berlin took the degree of Ph. 
D. from the University of Wisconsin. He' 
was married in i8yo to IMaud Hume, and 
has one daughter, Hildegard. Ho is now 
the professor of political science in Syracuse 
University. 

Largely through his efi'orts and those of 
his father, James E. Hamilton, an endow- 
ment of five thousand dollars was raised for 
the Presbyterian church at Kingston, the 
first Presbyterian churcii organized in the 
county, of which .\lr. Hamilton, though 
never a member, was for more than fortv 
years one of the trustees. 

In his political affiliations he is a Repub- 
lican, but has never as])ired to oftice. His 
time and interests have been closelv given 
to his farming and stock-raising interests.' 



He has now a large tract of land under a 
high state of cultivation, the same farm on 
which he locatetl at the time of his mar- 
riage. There, in a little brick house, one 
of the first brick structures in the county, 
he and his wife began their domestic life: 
and this little home is still standing in the 
rear of their present residence, a constant 
reminder of the early days. It is sur- 
rounded by a beautiful grove, which Mr. 
Hamilton himself planted. The now large 
trees add to the attractiveness of the i)lace. 
while the walks and drives and well kc\>l 
lawn are the indication of the prosperity and 
enterprise of the owner. The home is sup- 
plied with all the modern conveniences, and 
natural gas is flowing from one of the wells 
on the place. .\t this comfortable home 
Mr. Hamilton and his wife are spending 
their declining years after a happy married 
life covering a half century. Their friends 
are many, and throughout the community 
they are held in the highest esteem. 



MRS. S-\RA11 .\. MONTGOMER^■, 

The success wdiich lias been made by Mrs. 
Sarah A. Montgomery forms a theme which 
should be interesting to all readers and val- 
uable to all women. An account of it is 
presented here, because it is properly a part 
of this work, and in the hope that its ])er- 
usal may encourage other bereft and lonely 
women to enter paths perhaps hitherto un- 
trodden by them but certainly leading to 
security and pros])erity. Since 1874, dur- 
ing a period of twenty-five years, which is 
also the period of her widowhood, Mrs. 
Montgomery has managed a fine farm of 
one hundred and fifty-eight acres, a mile 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



and a half northeast of Greensburg, Indi- 
ana, and has. l^esides this, shown herself 
possessed of business capacity of a high 
order. When, after her husband's burial, 
she took account of her situation in life, she 
found herself possessed of the farm and one 
dollar and fifty cents cash. The prospect 
was certainly not one likely to reassure a 
weak woman, and such an one would have 
been very likely to sell the farm and live on 
its price; but with a true woman's prompt- 
ings Mrs. ]\Iontgomery faced the situation 
bravely and planned to take advantage of it 
to every extent possible. She accepted 
every duty and shirked no responsibility, for 
she had been brought up to believe that 
g'ood fortune is destined for stout hearts 
and that success will crown the efforts of 
willing workers in any worthy field of hu- 
man endeavor. She believed that "the dili- 
gent hand maketh rich in culture, growth in 
wisdom and in business," and results have 
demonstrated how substantial was the 
foundation of her faith. Progressive in her 
ideas and methods, everything about her 
betokens a woman's attention to minor de- 
tails. 

She set al)out imprt>\-ing the productive- 
ness of the place and during the first ten 
years of her management she cleared seven 
thousand dollars in excess of expenses. In 
1894 she erected a modern two-story house 
of thirteen rooms, heated with natural gas 
from a gas well on her farm, and provided 
with other up-to-date conveniences. Her 
enx'ironments are attracti\-e in the extreme, 
her house being surrounded by a well kept 
lawn, ornamented with beautiful plants and 
flowers. Close by on the north is a lakelet, 
fed by springs and partially obscured liy 
pond lilies, in which are large numbers of 



white and red fish. One of the chambers of 
the house she has given up to relics. 
Among her curios are a bedstead about 
seventy-five years old, a large spinning- 
wheel which was once used by one of her 
aunts, a dining table and a washstand and 
other furniture of ancient pattern, brass 
candlesticks and other interesting objects 
which recall memories of the pioneer days 
of our country. Mrs. Montgomery is 
childless, her only son having died at six- 
teen years of age. She reared and educated 
two nephews, however, both of whom are 
married and one of whom has a home with 
her and conducts her farm under her able 
direction. She is a Presbyterian and much 
given to church and benevolent work. Her 
offerings of flowers and choice fruits bring 
delight at the bedside of many a helpless 
invalid. She reads much and travels as op- 
portunity presents, and is in every wa\' a 
woman of culture fully up to the times. 

Mrs. Montgomery was born near Greens- 
burg, Indiana, June 18, 1831, a daughter of 
John and Sarah (Trimble) Gageby, both na- 
tives of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, who 
were married after their settlement in Deca- 
tur county. Her father was a son of James 
Gageby, a native of Ireland who, with a 
brother, came early to America and fought 
for .American independence in the Revolu- 
tionary army, and after the war located in 
Pennsylvania. There he became a suc- 
cessful farmer and reared a worth)' family. 
His children were: .Mien, who settled in 
Virginia; John, father of Mrs. Montgom- 
ery; David, who also came to Indiana; 
Neill. who came to Indiana and later went 
to Iowa, where he died; Jane (Mrs. Elder. 
of Pennsylvania); Robert, who died in 
Pennsylvania, and whose son, James, was a 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



S«9 



colonel in the Union service in the civil war 
and was long confined in Lihliy prison; 
and James, who had tlie lirst cal)inet shop 
in Greensliurg. James ('.a>;ehy, the emi- 
grant and patriot, was a man of good ability j 
and of high moral character, who was I 
reared in the Presliyterian faith and lived a 
goodly life that connnended him to the , 
respect oi all who knew him. John and 
David Gagehy came to Indiana in iHji. in 
company with Colonel Thomas llemlricks. 
who was appointed by the United States I 
government to snrvey the lands in Indiana { 
and whom they assisted in that work. Tlic 
country in all directions was then an un- 
broken forest. Colonel Hendricks and 
these men entered land, the former :\ con- ; 
siderable tract where Greensburg has since 
grown U]), and Mrs. Montgomery states 
that her mother made nia])!e sugar from sap 
yielded by a grove of maples which former- 
ly stood on the site of the Decatur county 
court-honse. Colonel Hendricks came 
from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and they 
named the settlement which gave the first 
chapter in the history of Greensburg, Indi- 
ana, in honor of that old eastern town. 

John Gageby married Sarah Trimble and 
settled on his land and improved a farm 
where he reared a family, lived out his days 
and made an enviable rei)utation as a good 
farmer and an honest man, and died in 1836, 
aged forty-four years, as the result of hard- 
ship and exjiosure incident to |Moneer life 
in a country to which he had never become 
full*' acclimated. He erected a hewn-log 
house, which he occupied in 1SJ3 and which 
he later weather-boarded and which is yet 
in use as a residence. He was the first out- 
spoken temperance man in Decatur county 
and his attitude on that question attracted 



nuich attention. It was the custom among 
liie iMoneers to i)rovide whisky for those 
who made up "bees" to l)uild their primitive 
houses, roll their logs or harvest their crops. 
Mr. Gageby refused to supply drinks, on the 
high moral ground that by so doing he 
would wickedly jjut temptation in the way 
of his brother men; but his more or less 
remote neigljbors did not make any differ- 
ence in their treatment of him on that ac- 
count, and his log-rolling and liar\esting 
were done in good time and in good order. 
His manly character won the admiration of 
all who knew him and led to his being 
chosen to fill several township otifices. He 
was a Whig in ]iolitics and a Presbyterian 
in religion. 

Sarah Trimble, wlm became his wife, was 
;i daughter of Thomas and l^lizabcth 
(Crow) Trimble and a native of (irecnsburg. 
Pennsylvania. Her father was of Scotch, 
her mother of Welsh, descent, and they 
both died in Pennsylvania, where Thomas 
Trimble was a farmer. John and Elizabeth 
(Crow) Trimble had children as follows: 
Jane (Mrs. Stewart); Elizabeth (Mrs. Thom- 
as Hendricks); Ann (Mrs. Seabury); Susan 
(Mrs. Robinson); Polly (Mrs. Odon); 
Sarah (mother of Mrs. Montgomery); 
Thomas, who died in Pennsylvania; James, 
who also died in Pennsylvania; and Nancy 
(Mrs. Matthews). The children of John 
and Sarah (Trimble) Gageby were Eliza- 
beth (Mrs. J. Montgomery); Susan (Mrs. 
McKee), who died in Iowa; James, who 
died in Decatur county. Indiana: and Sarah 
.\. (Mrs. Thomas Montgomery), the imme- 
diate subject of this sketch. 

Mrs. Montgomery passed her .school 
days at Greensburg and at X'ernon, Indiana, 
and after having finished her education 



270 



DECATUR COUNTY 



taught school eight years with good suc- 
cess. She uiarried Thomas Montgomery, 
a nati\e of Inchana and a son of Tliomas 
and EHzalieth (Bingham) Alontgomery. 
Thomas Montgomery, Sr., was a son of 
Hugh and Eva (Hartman) Montgomery, 
and on his father's side was of Irish descent. 
Hugh Montgomery came to America in 
colonial days and saw ser\ice as a soldier in 
the Revolutionary war. Three of his sons, 
Thomas, Michael and William, served their 
country in the war of 1812-14, and William 
was killed in battle. Thomas came early to 
Ohio and thence in 1824 to Indiana, where 
he entered large tracts of land, improved a 
good farm and reared a family and died in 
1846. He was one of the most prominent 
pioneers in his locality and lived a Christian 
life which was a worthy example to his fel- 
low men. His children were named as fol- 
lows, in the order of their birth: Henry, 
Thomas, Hugh, George, Michael, Robert, 
Mary (Mrs. Alexander Grant): Elizabeth 
(Mrs. Thompson); Sarah (Mrs. Martin); 
Nancy (Mrs. Hineman); and Margaret 
(Mrs. Crutchwell). After his marriage 
Thomas, son of Thomas and grandson of 
Hugh Montgomer)-, settled on one piece 
of the land entered i)y his father and made 
a good farm, upon which he passed the re- 
mainder of his life and died about 1857. 
He married Miss Lizzie Bingham, whose 
father. John Bingham, had died in Pennsyl- 
\ania, leaxing her doubly orphaned and 
without brother or sister or other near rela- 
tive. Miss Bingham joined some friends 
who w ere a jiart of a small colony bound for 
the west. They went down the Ohio river 
as far as Cincinnati and from there they 
made their way to Butler county, Ohio, 
where they located, whence some of them. 



Miss Bingham among the number, came to 
Decatur county, Indiana. The children of 
Thomas and Lizzie (Bingham) Montgom- 
ery were as follows: Rebecca, who died 
unmarried: Sarah, who also died unmalr- 
ried, agetl seventy-two; Eva, who married 
A. J. Draper: John B., who is dead; Hugh, 
who died in 185 1; George, who died in 
1831; Martha, who married a Mr. Craig; 
Thomas, who married Sarah Gageby and 
died November 24, 1874; and Robert, who 
lives on the old family homestead. After 
their marriage, Thomas and Sarah A. 
(Gagel)y) Montgomery moved upon a poor- 
ly improved farm which I\Ir. Montgomery 
purchased and part of which he put under a 
good state of cultivation and provided with 
better buildings and appointments. This 
property, as has been stated, has been 
brought up to a fine degree of excellence 
by his widow, he having been taken away 
in the midst of his planning and working. 
He was a man of a high order of intelli- 
gence, well read and well informed in pub- 
lic matters, an abolitionist and a Repub- 
lican, influential in his part}-, but ne\-er an 
office-seeker. Of independent thought and 
action, he braved prejudice and was the 
first man in his vicinity to give employment 
to negroes. He was a good husband and 
a lover of home, generous to the deserving 
poor, devoted to the Presbyterian church 
and all its interests, a consistent Christian 
gentleman who left the impress of a high 
moral character and a pure life ujion all 
with whom he came in contact. 

Earlier in this article it has been at- 
tempted to give some account of Mrs. 
Montgomery's busy, good and useful life 
since she has been a widow. The death of 
her son, just in the flower of his youth, was 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



another blow which w t)ul(l Iia\ c l)een crush- 
ing to most women, ilcr (Christian faith 
has sustained her, for she is a member of the 
Preshyterian churcli, liciijful to all its good 
works, and she has found relief from her 
own sorrows in ministering to the woes of 
others: and she has demonstrated that she 
possesses great executive ability and re- 
markable capacity for business: and she is 
going forward with her work and her chari- 
ties, firm in the belief that she will at last 
rccei\c the reward of the good and the 
faithful. 



TliOM.VS JOHXSOX. M. D. 

r>y his ability, energy and strict attention 
to his [)rofcssional duties. Dr. Thomas John- 
son has become one of the wealthiest and 
most successful practitioners of Decatur 
county, and he is a highly respected citizen 
of Greensburg. He was born in Oswego 
county. New York. January 14, 1827. His 
parents. Lucas and Rachel (Betson) John- 
son, were natives of Xew York, but came 
west about 1838. They located in Fayette 
county. Indiana, about four miles north of 
Laurel, where they lived for a great many 
years. They finally took up their residence 
in Laurel, where Mrs. Johnson died in 1879, 
at the age of fifty-nine years. The father of 
our subject was engaged in agricultural 
pursuits the greater part of his life, and suc- 
ceeded in accumulating a large amount of 
])ropcrty. He was a ]ironiinent member of 
the Metluidist clnnch. in which he was a 
steward and also clas.s-leader. His death 
took place at Greensburg. Indiana, January 
-3- •^^93- when he was eighty-nine years 
old. In the Johnson family were fi\e chil- 
dren, three of whom are living, — Mrs. Jane 



Shera, of Connersville, Indiana; John B., 
who lives near Noblesville, Indiana, and 
who, like his father, is a farmer; and Thom- 
as, the subject of this sketch. 

Dr. Johnson was eleven years old when 
his parents removed to Fayette county, and 
he there spent his boyhood days. Me en- 
tered the old Asbury (now the De Pauw) 
University, and was a member of the sopho- 
more class when he decided to leave college 
and take up the study of medicine. He be- 
gan reading in the oftice and under the in- 
struction of Dr. J. 1'. Kiiehen, of Laurel, 
and later studied at the Cincinnati Medical 
College, at which he graduated in i8'')5. 
Prior to this, however, as was often the case 
in those days, he had practised for eleven 
years. — one of which he spent in Dalton 
(1854) and two in Columbia, Indiana, In 
1857 he went to Clarksburg, where he re- 
mained for twenty-four years. 

In 1882 Dr. Johnson removed to (ireens- 
burg, where he has since made his home. 
Here he has a large practice, the .second in 
length of time in the county, and has won 
the confidence of his patrons by his thor- 
ough knowledge of his profession, his genial 
manners and his sympathetic treatment of 
the sick and suffering. In addition to his 
income from his profession Dr. Johnson 
owns three hundred and eighty-nine acres 
of land, in Rush and Franklin counties, near 
Laurel, which is under g<i()d cultivation ami 
is valuable ]iroperty. 

In politics Dr. Johnson is a strong Re- 
publican, and he served fi\e years on the 
pension board, under Harrison's adminis- 
tration. Me is a steward in the Methodist 
church, au'l a member of Decatur Lodge. 
Xo. 36. F. & A. M.. and of Chapter Xo. 368. 
R. .\. M. He was lirst ni.irrieil Tanunr\- i. 



272 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



1854, to Jane McNeal, of Fayette county, 
who bore him three children: Jessie, who 
died in early life; Zena, who married J. F. 
Harris, a farmer of Rush county; and Una, 
the wife of James A. Clark. The mother 
of these children died October 24. 1870. 
Dr. Johnson was married May 28, 187 1, to 
Sarah Frances Gest, of Clarksburg. 



WILLIAAI H. ROBBINS, 

The subject of this notice is a well known 
resident of Decatur county, Indiana, where 
he was bom July 6, 1859, a son of John E. 
and Nancy (Hunter) Robbins. John E. 
Robbins was a son of William and Eleanor 
(Anderson) Robbins and a grandson of 
William Robbins, who came from England 
to Pennsylvania at an early day and served 
eight years in the Revolutionar>' army. 
The children of William, the patriot, were 
born in ^'irginia, where he settled after the 
war. and he took them all to Kentucky with 
him when he located there, early in the pio- 
neer days of that part of the country. Work- 
ing as a gunsmith, blacksmith and farmer, 
he reared his children to maturity, and as 
they grew up they located, one after an- 
other, in Indiana, where their father joined 
them about 1828. He took up eighty acres 
of land and improved it. This was his home 
during the balance of his life, and he lies 
buried not far from the John Robbins 
homestead. 

This i)atriot pioneer was a plain, honest 
man, blunt and straightforward, with a 
high standard of inorality and integrity; in 
religion he was a Baptist, and in politics a 
Whig. He married Bethiah Robbins, a 
widow, not even indirectly related to him. 



who was born December i, 1760, and w^ho 
had two sons, Abel and Benjamin, who 
were reared by their stepfather. The fol- 
lowing facts concerning his own children 
will be found interesting: Elizabeth be- 
came Mrs. J. Watkins; Marmaduke and 
Jacob were twins; Mary became Mrs. 
Kirkjiatrick; Nathaniel, John and Will- 
iam were younger sons; Charlotte be- 
came Mrs. Anderson; Dosia married J. 
Herron. All of the children of the pioneer 
and his worthy wife came to Indiana. Abel 
and Benjamin Robbins, Mrs. Robbins' 
sons by her former marriage, remained be- 
hind, and Abel lived and died in Kentucky, 
while Benjamin moved to Tennessee and 
there lived out his allotted time. John 
Robbins was the first of all to come to Iiidi- 
ana. He came in 1821. and Marmaduke in 
1823. 

William Robbins. who was six years old 
when his father moved from \':rginia to 
Kentucky, was reared and began his active 
life there. He entered land in Indiana in 
1 82 1 and in 1823 was married and moved 
onto it. He had borrowed money to enter 
his land, and at the time he came to I'ndiana 
had paid half of the amount and had no 
money in hand for present needs. He had 
a team and wagon, however, and brought 
along a few cattle, hogs and sheep. He 
was a true pioneer and overcame numerous 
obstacles, not the least of which was his 
moving, for he was obliged at times to cut 
his way throug-h the forest and to make 
long detours to cross streams. He first 
made a comfortable camp, then erected a 
log cabin, and he lost no time in jiutting 
under cultivation as much land as possible. 
It was not long before his pioneer home 
was self-supporting. He grew w'ool and 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



273 



raised flax and his wife spun and wove and 
made clothing. He became successful as a 
general farmer and stock-raiser. He was 
not of a speculative turn of mind and had 
no thought of accumulating money except 
in- honest labor and safe and wise manage- 
ment of his affairs. He formed a definite 
plan to buy land, but made a rule that he 
would never buy until he could i)ay. .\s 
lie was al)le to do so he Iwught land from 
time to time and ga\c to each of his chil- 
dren at marriage a home farm of eighty 
acres. At the same time lie rescr\'ed a 
JKinu'stoad of one huiidred and twenty acres 
for tiio one who should care for him and his 
wife ill their declining years. He was born 
.\ugusi 5, 1797. and died September 11, 
1S54. He was a Whig and an abolitionist, 
and had he lived he would unmistakably 
have affiliated with the Republican i)arty. 
It was because he abhorred slavery that he 
left Kentucky and took up his residence in 
a free state. He was a charitable and help- 
ful man who won the gratitude of many of 
his fellows. He despised all dishonesty, 
and held liars in the most profound con- 
tempt. 

Eleanor .\nderson, who became William 
Kobbins' wife, was a daughter of James 
.\nderson and was born in X'irginia. July 3, 
1797. Her father and his family removed 
to Kentucky at an early day, making the 
journey down the Ohio by flat-boat to a 
point on the Kentucky shore below Cincin- 
nati. He located in Henry county, Ken- 
tucky, near the Robbinses, and there farmed 
during the balance of his life. His children 
were as follows: Isaac, James, Ruth (who 
married John Robbins). Eleanor who mar- 
ried William Robbins), Ntmcy (who became 
Mrs. White). Weslev and Sarah. .Ml ex- 



cept Wesley and Sarah removed to Indiana. 
The children of William and Eleanor (.Vn- 
derson) Robbins were horn in the following 
order: Sarelda R. in;n-ried W. Stires: 
John E. will be referred to more at length 
further on; William .M. died young; James 
N. is a prominent f;iniicr and breeder of fine 
cattle in Decatur county. Indiana; Merrill 
H. is dead. 

John E. Kobbins, father of William H. 
Robbins. son of William l\obl>iiis the ])io- 
neer and grandson, of William Kolibins the 
patriot, was born in Decatur county, Indi- 
ana, and was a member of his father's fam- 
ily until his marriage, which occurred .\o 
vember 7. 1844. He then settled on a 
small tract of land given him by his father, 
but was without means to improve it or to 
begin fanning. He found employment 
during the succeeding winter at school- 
teaching, at ten dollars a month, and was 
thus enabled to put in some crops the fol- 
lowing spring. This circumstance is given 
as an index to his character. He was a de- 
termined, resourceful man, and he not only 
])rospered but became one of the most 
prominent financiers of eastern Indiana. 
Far-sighted beyond most men and with an 
unerring business instinct, he made a suc- 
cess of every enter])rise he undertook and 
in k)cal history made for himself a name 
and place which reflect the greatest credit 
upon his euterpri.se and his business meth- 
ods. From the time of his school-teaching 
venture he accumulated constantly, and 
more and more rapidly as the vears went 
on. 

He lived on his original farm until 185S, 
when he was enabled to buy one hundred 
and sixty acres a mile south of (Ireens- 
burg, which was his homestead during the 



274 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



remainder of his life. He added to this 
place by subsequent purchases until it com- 
prised eight hundred and sixty-three acres 
and bought about three thousand acres in 
other tracts. His landed possessions con- 
stituted only a portion of his wealth. Early 
in his career he began to raise and feed 
stock, and his operations grew so extensive 
that he handled more hogs than all other 
dealers in the county combined, with feed- 
ing and stock yards at Lawrenceburg and 
elsewhere and extensive slaughter houses at 
Greensburg. He looked carefully after his 
own large interests and was public-spirited 
to a marked degree, his interest in the de- 
velopment of the county inducing him to 
take a foremost place in the promotion of 
such public enterprises as turnpikes, rail- 
roads and banks. He was first to agitate 
pike roads in Decatur county, and was 
president of the \'ernon. Greensburg & 
Rushville Pike Road Compan_\- and was 
largely instrumental in making the road a 
success. He originated the Third National 
Bank of Greensburg, which began business 
January, 1883, with John E. Robbins as 
president and C. Ewing as cashier; was a 
director in other Greensburg banks and 
was. from time to time, identified promi- 
nently and helpfully with other important 
enterprises. His sound judgment was 
sought in matters of moment to the people, 
and in order to secure to Decatur county 
the benefits of his eminent financial ability 
he was called to the office of commissioner, 
in which he served with the greatest credit. 
He loved his home and improved and beau- 
tified it in many ways, continuing this work 
until the time of his death, July 22. 1896. 
Xancy Hunter, his wife, was born in Ohio, 
December 8, 1826, a daughter of Nathaniel 



and Elizabeth (Fares) Hunter. Her par- 
ents were natives of Germany, liut were 
married in (3hio and bought their liouse- 
keeping outfit at Cincinnati. In 1827 they 
removed to Franklin county, Indiana, 
where Mr. Hunter took up and improved 
land, which he sold to good advantage ten 
years later. At that time (1837) he entered 
a large tract of land in Decatur county and 
began the improvement of what turned out 
to be a fine farm. Late in life he retired to 
Greensburg, where he died at the age of 
ninety-seven, his wife surviving him and 
dving at the age of ninety-eight. He was 
a man of much enterprise, and several times 
built flat-boats and loaded them with prod- 
uce, which he sold in the markets of Xew 
Orleans, making the return journey on foot. 
He also helped to construct the White- 
water canal. In politics he was a strong 
Democrat, but never acceptcil oflice. His 
children were named as follows: Ann E. 
(Mrs. Shaw), Rebecca (^Irs. Wallace), 
Stephenson (deceased), Nathan (who lives 
in Greensburg), Nancy (mother of the sub- 
ject of this sketch), and Peter (deceased). 
Following are the names of the children of 
John E. Robbins: Sarelda B. (Mrs. 
Smiley), Minerva J. (Mrs. Gilchrist). Ella 
(Mrs. Kitchin), William, a farmer near 
Greensburg, Clara (Mrs. Kitchin), John E., 
Olive (Mrs. McCoy), Frank R. and Eliza 
(Mrs. Elder). Nancy (Hunter) Robbins, 
now in her seventieth year, is living on the 
homestead, near Greensburg. 

William H. Robbins remained under the 
parental roof until he was twenty-one, 
meantime acquiring a practical education 
in the schools near his father's home. He 
then went to Bartholomew county, Indiana, 
and there for two years had charge of a 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



275 



farm which belonged to his father. Re- 
turning to Decatur county, he assumed the 
management of the farm of five hundred 
and thirty-two acres, two miles southeast 
of Greensburg, where he has since lived. 
He has remodeled the house, a sightly and 
commodious brick structure, and built large 
barns and other outbuildings and has 
brought the place to a high state of im- 
provement and cultivation. He gives his 
attention to breeding fine stock and to gen- 
eral farming, and he has been so successful 
as to demonstrate not only his skill as a 
farmer and stockman but his ability as a 
business man. 

The worthy and accomi)lished woman 
who is the wife of William H. Robbins was 
Miss Cora Sefton. a daughter of Isaac and 
Mary (Myers) Sefton. Her grandfather, 
William Sefton, was one of the pioneers and 
leading citizens of Decatur county. Wil- 
liam Sefton was a son of Henry Sefton. an 
e.x-officer of the English army, who came 
to Ohio from Ireland and died of cholera in 
1834. The children of Henry Sefton were 
named as follows, in the order of their 
birth: William (born February 2, 1806), 
Henry (died in Ohio). Maria (Mrs. Scott), 
Jane (Mrs. Hughes). Ellen (Mrs. Hunger- 
ford), Sarah (Mrs. I'.revoort). William 
married Catherine Shuck and settled as a 
farmer in Ohio, where he had fwe children 
born. In 1838 he came to Indiana and 
located in Decatur county, on land entered 
by his father, and cleared up and improved 
a farm, which he operated successfully until 
his death, October 29, 1868. He was sue- j 
cessful in a business way and added mate- | 
rially to his landed possessions by subse- 
quent purchases. He was a Democrat and 
was elected and served as one of the trus- 



tees of the township. He was not a church 
member, but "kept the commandments" 
and was a liberal sui)i)orter of churches 
without question as to denomination. His 
wife, who was born in April, 1806, and who 
died October 5, 1869, was a daughter of 
Michael Shuck, of German descent, from 
Pennsylvania, who located early in Butler 
county, Ohio, but came in his old age to 
the home of his daughter, in Indiana, where 
he died at the age of eighty-eight. Their 
children were Sarah (Mrs. Governor Bibbs 
of Ohio), Eliza (Mrs. .\. Lawrence), Peggy 
(Mrs. Mulholland). Hannah (Mrs. Shaw). 
Polly (Mrs. Hall), and Catherine (Mrs. 
Sefton), whose children were named as fol- 
lows: Henry (born January 25. 1833): 
Eliza (Mrs. Scott, of Ohio, born .\pril 2. 
1834): Elizabeth (l)orn June 22. 1835. died 
unmarried August 19, 1880): Michael (born 
April 9, 1836: died January 15, 1869); 
Isaac (born September 28, 1837, is the 
father of Mrs. Robbins); Edward (born 
January 31, 1839): Mary (born .April 19. 
1840, married Mr. Willey); Sarah (born 
October 13, 1844, became Mrs. .Anderson), 
and William W. (born .August 11. 1846). 
The father was born February 22. 1806. 
and died of pneumonia. They were mar- 
ried in 1830. Isaac Sefton was reared in 
Decatur county. Indiana, and learned farm- 
ing on his father's homestead, where he re- 
mained until he was twenty-eight years old. 
He married in 1865 and began farming on 
his own account. Upon the death of his 
father he inherited a part of his father's es- 
tate, to which he has added by judicious 
jnirchases until, from one hundred and si.xty 
acres, his landed possessions now aggregate 
six hundred and five 'acres. He now owns 
three improveil farms in this countv and 



276 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



one in Boone county and two houses in 
Greensburg, where he now Hves retired 
from active life, wealthy and influential 
and respected for the uprightness of his 
character. Mr. and Mrs. Sefton are con- 
sistent members of the Methodist church, 
and ]\Ir. Sefton has served as steward and 
in other official capacities. Mrs. Sefton 
was Miss Mary E. Myers, a daughter of 
Thomas S. and Mahala (Braden) Myers. 
Mr. Myers was of Pennsylvania Dutch ex- 
traction and was born in Rush county, 
Indiana. Mrs. Myers was born in Decatur 
county, Indiana, and they were married in 
1843. Thomas S. Myers, who was a son of 
Thomas Myers (who died in 1845), passed 
away at Greensburg, Indiana, October 18. 
1887, aged sixty-two years. Other children 
of Thomas Myers were Anderson, Vienna, 
Margaret, John and Edith. Thomas Myers 
was a native of Pennsylvania, a pioneer 
farmer in Indiana and a Primitive Baptist 
in his religious faith. The wife of Thomas 
S. Myers survives her husband, and has 
many interesting recollections of him. 
Like his father he was a Primitive Baptist, 
devoted to the advancement of Christianity. 
He was an invalid for some years before his 
death and gave much of his time to good 
and charitable works. Mrs. Myers, who is 
now seventy-two, was a daughter of Walter 
Braden, of Irish descent, who was born in 
1797, being reared in the United States. He 
married in Kentucky and brought his wife, 
on horseback, to Indiana, where he became 
prominent as a farmer, a Methodist and 
public-spirited citizen. Here he died in 
1876, and his wife passed away in 1855. 
Their house was the scene of more than 
one religious awakening among the pio- 
neers, and was the home of all the preachers 



who came through that part of the country. 
They had children who were named Mi- 
chael, John, Richard, Jane (Mrs. Russell), 
Linda and James. The children of Thomas 
S. and Mary E. (Braden) Myers were: 
Mary E. (wife of Isaac Sefton), Robert W.. 
Emma (Mrs. Gilmour), Morgan, Willard, 
Nevada (Mrs. W. S. Moore), and Maggie 
B. (Mrs. Scott). The children of Isaac and 
Mary (Myers) Sefton were: Kate, who was 
born November 11, 1868, and who married 
Frank B. Robbins; and Cora, who was 
born March 26, 1878, and who married W. 
H. Robbins. 

The union of William H. and Cora (Sef- 
ton) Robbins has been blest with one 
daughter, Willa, born Easter Sunday (April 
2), 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins are Bap- 
tists, and Mr. Robbins is a Republican and 
a member of the Benevolent and Protective 
Order of Elks. In all things Mr. Robbins 
is patriotic, always casting his influence on 
the side of progress and aiding it Ijy liber- 
ality in a financial way. He is one of the 
rising young men of the county and many 
influential friends rejoice in his sul)Stantial 
success. 



ANDREW S. GILMOUR. 

.'\merica has reason for pride in tlie 
Scotch element of its po]nilation. The 
Scotch are a hardy, thrifty, honest race who 
give a stimulus to worthy endeavor and 
present an example worth emulating wher- 
ever their lots may be cast. The subject of 
this notice is descended in all lines from this 
good stock and is a worthy American rep- 
resentative of "the land of the thistle," with 
its traditions, its history, its poetry and its 
rugged, living love of men for men. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Andrew S. Gilmour was horn at N«w 
Haven, Connecticut, April 30, 1833, a son 
of Gabriel and Janet (Craig) Gilmour. His 
parents were natives of Scotland, were mar- 
ried tliere and came to America in 1832, 
after having saved money for the venture 
for some years as occasion presented. From 
New York they went to Connecticut and 
Mr. Gilmour engaged in weaving in New 
Haven. At the expiration of two years, how- 
ever, lie turned his attention to farming, 
and in 1835 he came west to Indiana and 
lived in Franklin county in 1835-6. Next 
he removed to Union county, where he re- 
mained until 1839, and then came to Deca- 
tur county and bought a small ])artially im- 
proved place near Greensburg, where his 
son, Andrew S. Gilmour, now lives. He be- 
gan the improvement of this property and 
his son has added to it until he owned 
eighty acres. Not long after his arrival his 
health failed and he was an invalid until his 
death, which occurred on Christmas. 1843. 
His widow and their family survived him. 
Mrs. Gilmour kept the family together by a 
brave effort and reared her children to re- 
spectability and to usefulness. This worthy 
pioneer woman was a daughter of James 
Craig, prominent in Scotland as a rnanu- 
facturer of carpets. .\fter his death this 
business was continued in his family and 
one of his sons became noted as a manufac- 
turer of Paisley shawls. John Craig, an- 
other of Mrs. Gilmour's brothers, was a 
Baptist clergyman, and Archibald Craig, 
another of her brothers, was a popular 
Presbyterian minister at Mount Carmel. 
Indiana, where he died. Her brother, Wil- 
liam Craig, w^as prominent as a farmer near 
Mount Carmel for some years and later 
lived until his death in Decatur countv. 



where he was a farmer and coverlet-weaver. 
Her sister Mary became Mrs. Gilchrist and 
lived and died in Franklin county. Joseph 
Gilmour, a brother of Gabriel Gilmour and 
an uncle of Andrew S. Gilmour. located at 
Dunlapsville, Union county, Indiana, and 
after farming there for some time removed 
to Missouri, where he died. Thomas, a 
brother, and Agnes, a sister, of Gabriel Gil- 
mour. came to tlie United States. Thomas 
was for a time a grocer in Cincinnati, then 
a cabinet-maker, but finally located in Deca- 
tur county, where he lived out his vears. 
.\gnes (Mrs. Robert Muir) located in Mis- 
souri and died there. 

Following are the names of the children 
of Gabriel and Janet (Craig) Gilmour: 
.\ndrew S., of whom particular mention will 
be made further on; Elizabeth M., who 
married Hugh Gilchrist, a ranchman of 
Colorado; and Agnes B.. who is a member 
of the household of her brother on the old 
family homestead near Greensburg. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gilmour were stanch Presbyte- 
rians. Mrs. Gilmour died June 26, 1885. 

.\i the time of his father's death. Andrew 
S. Gilmour was scarcely ten years old, and 
he possesses a vivid recollection of the ter- 
rible dispensation of providence which 
made their isolated pioneer home the home 
of the widow and the fatherless. With his 
boyish hands he did what came in his wa\' 
to do to koc]) his mother and her children 
all under one roof. .\t twelve, when most 
boys would be at school and at play, he a.s- 
sumed charge of the farm. In his case the 
task was not merely nominal; for he di- 
rected the management of the place and 
did most of the hard work. He erected the 
present buildings on the farm and by judi- 
cious invest luent has added greatly to the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



acreage of the estate. In time he bought 
his married sister's interest in the place. 
As its sole owner he still further improved it 
and he has made it a home to which he is 
bound by many memories and associations 
and which he will doubtless cling to during 
life. As a farmer he has a high reputation 
for the timeliness and the excellence of his 
products, and in many respects his home- 
stead and its management are commended 
by all farmers round about. 

In 1863 Mr. Gilmour married Miss Mar- 
garet Blaine, a native of Scotland, who 
came over to .\merica with her parents. 
Thomas Blaine and wife, who settled with 
their children in Indianapolis, where Mr. 
Blaine was engineer 'in a large factory and 
where he and his wife ijoth died. Their 
children were, besides Mrs. Gilmour, Isa- 
belle (Mrs. C. Pottage, of Indianapolis); 
Thomas (who died leaving a wife and two 
children), and William (who died unmar- 
ried). Mr. and Mrs. Blaine were lifelong 
Presbyterians and reared their children in 
that faith. 

Mrs. ("iilmour bore her husljand six chil- 
dren and died May 27, 1880. The children 
were named as follows, in the order of their 
nativity: Maggie M. (Mrs. L. B. Coch- 
ran), Gabriel (assi.sting his father in the 
management of the farm), Nettie C, Belle 
B. (Mrs. E. D. Hamilton of Julesburg, Col- 
orado); James \V.: and Charles, married 
September 13, 1899, to Cora L. Christy. 
The family are all identified with the Pres- 
byterian church. Mr. Gilmour is a Repub- 
lican, influential in local affairs, but has 
never sought or accepted public ofifice, and 
is a member of the great brotherhood of 
Freemasons. For years he has given at- 
tention to scientific fanning and to improv- 



ing the grade of hogs. He has been suc- 
cessful in breeding thoroughbred Poland- 
China hogs which have been awarded 
premiums at many state and county fairs 
and ha\-e found a ready market in different 
states. In all ways he has been public- 
spirited and helpful to the community, and 
he is regarded as a model farmer, a good 
neighbor, a just man in all his dealings and 
a patriotic citizen who loves the country of 
his father's adoption and has the utmost 
faith in its future greatness. His career 
has been one which reflects upon him 
the greatest credit. He has been self- 
reliant, industrious, frugal and honest, 
never seeking to better his own for- 
tunes at the expense of those of another. 
He has made his neighbor's cause his own 
and in all ways been helpful to those about 
him whom he saw struggling manfully 
against adverse circumstances. He has 
made his word as good in a financial way 
as any bond, and he enjoys in a marked 
degree the confidence of all who know him. 



ARCHIBALD C. GILCHRIST. 

Archibald C. Gilchrist, a prominent rep- 
resentative farmer of Washington town- 
slii]). Decatur county, Indiana, comes of 
families who were pioneer settlers. A son 
of Hugh and IVIehitable (Walker) Gilchrist, 
he was born in Franklin county, Indiana, 
July 16, 1846. His father was a native of 
Kilmarnock,' Scotland, born October 4, 
1804; his mother was born in Maine, July 
6, 18 1 2. They were married in Connecti- 
cut, where Hugh Gilchrist located at the 
age of twenty-four, having passed his life to 
that time at his native place. He came 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



279 



west soon after his marriage and while still 
a young man and bought a farm in Franklin 
county. Indiana, where he made a home 
and where his children were mostly reared. 
He had learned the weaver's trade in Scot- 
land and worked at it in New England and 
after coming to Indiana, though he was 
obliged, in the pioneer days, to go to Ken- 
tucky for wool. After a time he disposed 
of his farm in Franklin county and came to 
Decatur county and bought another farm in 
Clay township, where he died September 
29. 1857. His wife survived him until 
October 5, 1892, and her declining years 
were passed in Greensburg. He was a 
strong Republican, but never aspired to 
public office and usually declined it peremp- 
torily when it was otifered to him. He was 
in all things a true Scottish-American, a 
patriotic supporter of the flag under which 
he has found protection and prosperity. 
His wife, a daughter of old and representa- 
tive families of New England, was a wo- 
man of education and exceptional intellec- 
tuaf ability. Many members of her imme- 
diate family were professional men of note 
and the family intermarried with the .\dams 
family, of which John. John Quincy and 
Charles Francis Adams have been consi)icu- 
ous representatives in different genera- 
tions. One of Mrs. Gilchrist's sisters mar- 
ried a son of President John (Juincy Adams 
and lived in Ohio. 

The cliildren of Hugh and Meiiitable 
(Walker) Gilchrist were named as follows, 
in the order of their birth: Sarah (Mrs. 
Appleton), who was born in New Haven, 
Connecticut. August 17. 1832. and died 
March 15. 1853; Mary, born at Mount 
Carniel. May 2. 1835. died in infancy; Jean- 
ette. born at Steubenville. Ohio, June 25. 



1837, became the wife of H. Robbins, of 
Decatur county; George E., born at Mount 
Carniel. December 10, 1843. is now a resi- 
dent of Brightwood. Marion county, Indi- 
ana; Archibald C, born at Mount Car- 
mel, July 16, 1846; Elizabeth, born Oc- 
tober 4. 1848. died July 7, 1865; Adaline, 
born November 2, 1850, died October 4, 
1851; and Lavina, who was born Septem- 
ber 7, 1852, and married Joseph Burney. 
George E. Gilchrist enlisted in the Seventh 
Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for 
j three years, and served with the Army of 
the Potomac. particii)ating in many impor- 
tant battles. At the wilderness tight he 
was made a prisoner and confined in Libby 
prison and later at .Andersonville. where he 
sufYered all the tortures of sickness and hun- 
ger. At length one thou.sand prisoners 
were transferred from .Andersonville to 
Charleston and confined in a stockade. 
George was one of tlie number, and when 
they were being transferred to another 
stockade he. with a few others, escaped. 
Hugh Gilchrist and his wife were consistent 
members of the Presbyterian church and. so 
far as was possible, reared their family in 
that faith. 

A. C. Gilchrist was brought up to farm- 
ing and knows the busine.ss from .A to Z. 
When he was twenty-four years old he 
married and bought and settled on his fath- 
er's homestead. He made several advan- 
tageous changes in location and finally lo- 
cated on his present farm of four hundred 
acres. He owns another farm of two hun- 
dred and fifty acres and is largely engaged 
in general farming and in raising, grading 
and dealing in stock. He married Miss 
Minerva J. Robbins, a lady of much intelli- 
gence, high culture and many accomplish- 



280 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ments, who has borne him children as fol- 
lows: Charles S., born January 30, 1872, 
secured a thorough English, classical and 
scientific education and is a reputable and 
successful physician at Bennett, Nebraska. 
He was some time since commissioned a 
surgeon in the United States army and as- 
signed to service in the Philippines. John 
E., born February 25, 1874, lives at In- 
dianapolis, Indiana. Frank H., born Sep- 
tember 18, 1876, is a member of his father's 
household, as is also Luna L., born Septem- 
ber II, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist are 
Presbyterians and active and liberal sup- 
porters of their church and all its interests. 
Mrs. Gilchrist is a daughter of the late John 
E. Robbins, one of Indiana's most promi- 
nent farmers, business men and financiers, 
and his wife Nancy (Hunter) Rolibins, a 
representative of an honored pioneer family. 
John E. Robbins was a son of William Rob- 
bins and a grandson of William Robbins, 
who came from England and settled in 
Pennsylvania, .\fter serving the cause of 
the colonies in the Revolutionary war, he 
removed to Virginia and later to Kentucky, 
His children were born in Virginia, and his 
son William was six years old when the 
family went to Kentucky. Much other 
matter of interest concerning this patriot 
pioneer will be found in the biographical 
sketches of his great-grandsons, Mrs. Gil- 
christ's brothers, who are among the prom- 
inent residents of Decatur county, wdiere 
the first William Robbins died in 1834. For 
further detailed information concerninp^ 
William Robbins, the son of the emigrant, 
and John E. Robbins, son of the second 
William Robbins, the reader is referred to 
the articles above mentioned, in which the 
genealogical history of the Decatur county 



family of Robbins, in its different branches, 
is fully set forth. John E. Robbins, who 
was the pioneer agitator for pike roads in 
this part of the state aivd was president of 
the Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville Rail- 
road Company, and was the founder and 
president of the Third National Bank of 
Greensburg, until his death, married Nancy, 
daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth 
(Fares) Hunter, November 7, 1844. He 
died July 22, 1896. His widow is still liv- 
ing near Greensburg, aged sixty-nine. 
Their children were: Sarelda B, (Mrs. Smi- 
ley), Minerva J. (Mrs. Gilchrist), Ella (Mrs. 
Kitchin), William H. (a farmer near Greens- 
burg), Clara (Mrs. Kitchin), John E., Olive 
(Mrs. McCoy), Frank B. and Lida (Mrs. 
Elder). 

Mr. Gilchrist is an enterprising and pub- 
lic-spirited man, alive to all local interests 
and active and generous in their promo- 
tion. His success in life has been won by 
the exercise of all those virtues which con- 
stitute the honest, upright man of worthy 
ambition, push and perseverance. Patriot- 
ic to a marked degree, he is influential in 
his party and alwavs solicitous for the prev- 
alence of its principles. He is liberal in his 
views of all questions of public moment, and 
his liberality extends to his dealing with all 
his fellow men, many of whom have found 
him a true "friend in need." 



SAMUEL ADDISON DONNELL. 

Fugit township, Decatur county, was ex- 
ceptionally fortunate in the class of men 
who became permanent residents here in the . 
days when the country was wild and its 
possibilities an unknown quantity. These 



DECATUR COUNTY 



281 



pioneers, mostly from the southern and 
southeastern states, were, almost to a man, 
of the ijest type of the frontiersman, for 
they not only possessed the will, bravery 
and strength to overcome obstacles, but, 
above all, they were patriots of high char- 
acter and lofty principle. 

The Donnells, who were of Scotch an- 
cestry, have been prominent members of 
this community for about three-quarters of 
a century. James Donnell, the great-grand- 
father of our subject, removed from his Vir- 
ginia home to Westmoreland county, Penn- 
sylvania, in 1775. and in 17S4 took his 
family to Kentucky, 'riicro, in comiiany 
with a few other settlers, he founded 
liinkston Station, one of the oldest 
in that portion of the state. There, in an 
old burial ground on the bank of the Lick- 
ing river, repose the mortal remains of our 
subject's great-grandparents, both, it is 
said, buried in the same grave. They left 
three sons. Thomas, who was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1765; Samuel, who was born in 
the same state in 1769; and James, whose 
death occurred in Kentucky, in 1813. 

Samuel Donnell and Hannah Quiet were 
married on the 8th of August, 1793, and 
their son James, father of our subject, was 
born in Nicholas comity. KciUucky, in 
1795. Sanuicl Donnell and his elder broth- 
er. Thomas, emigrated to Decatur county, 
in Se])tember, 1823. and located upon a 
tract of land which had been entered for 
them, July 21, 1821. Undoubtedly one of 
the strongest motives in their emigration 
was the fact that they desired to dwell in a 
state where slavery was not tolerated. 
Samuel, especially, had been a strong oppo- 
nent of the hated system and never ceased 
to wage war on it, assisting in the organiza- 



tion of abolition societies, and, during his 
residence in Kentucky, preached the doc- 
trine of gradual emancipation, with the ob- 
ject of eventually making the state a free 
one. True to the training and bias of his 
Scottish ancestry, he was a zealous Presby- 
terian, and. needless to say, when the great 
division in that denomination on the subject 
of slavery came, he sided with the ]:)rogres- 
sive branch. After his death the Rev. Mr. 
Montfort, D. D., pastor of the Presbyterian 
church at Kingston, Decatur county, said 
of him: "Though he was not an educated 
man. in the connnon acceptation of the 
term, yet tlict)logians and tloctors of divin- 
ity could sit at his feet and gain knowl- 
edge." An incident may be given, showing 
the power which he possessed and the man- 
ner in which his natural eloquence and 
stanchness to right principles inlluenced 
people. He was an ardent temperance man 
and upon one occasion he went to Clarks- 
burg, where a man by the name of Sanders 
kept a tavern or hotel, and. as was cus- 
tomary in those days, he maintained a bar. 
Mr. Donnell asked permission to address 
the men assembled in the bar-room, and, 
being granted his request, he forthwith' de- 
livered one of the most powerful temperance 
speeches ever made in this county. The 
wife of the landlord, who felt convicted, 
though she could not entirely overcome the 
economical Scotch tendency in her nature, 
forthwith remarked to her husband that, 
when the contents of the barrel of whisky 
which they were then dispensing were gone, 
that should be the last drop that should 
ever be sold over their counter: and so it 
proved. 

Though the wife of Sanuicl Donnell died 
in 1 817. long before he came to this county. 



282 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



he remained faithful to her memory for a 
third of a century. Their children tenderly 
laid him away to rest, after his death on the 
29th of September, 1850, and later they 
had the remains of the wife and mother 
brought here from Kentucky and placed by 
his side. Of their four sons and five daugh- 
ters not one survives, but all of them came 
to this county with the father, and all save 
Thomas left descendants. They were 
named as follows: James; Thomas; Cath- 
erine, wife of Andrew Robinson, Sr.; Julia, 
wife of Thomas Hamilton; Polly, who mar- 
ried Andrew Robinson, Jr.; Eliza, wife of 
Preston E. Hopkins; Samuel A., John C. 
and Fidelia, Mrs. Harvey Anbrobus. 

James Donnell, father of our subject, 
born in 1795, as previously mentioned, had 
very limited advantages for an education, 
but he inherited the talent for public speak- 
ing which his father before him possessed, 
and the same desire for the triumph of the 
right animated him. He was fearless in the 
expression of his strong anti-slavery views, 
at a time when it was dangerous in the ex- 
treme to breathe such sentiments in this 
locality, and though threats of personal vio- 
lence were often received by him. On one 
occasion he engaged in a debate with Judge 
Hopkins, at Clarksburg, and, though the 
judge was considered a man of great learn- 
ing and intelligence, as well as of much 
experience in public speaking, it was 
generally conceded that Mr. Donnell more 
than held his own ground in the argu- 
ment. He was as true to his con- 
victions on the subjects of temperance 
and religion as was his esteemed father, and 
all who knew him reverenced his opinions. 
He chose for his wife Sophia, daughter of 
Thomas Meek. She was born in Lexing- 



ton and came to this county with her par- 
ents at an early day. Six children blessed 
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Donnell, namely: 
Samuel A.; Thomas N.; Zerilda, wife of 
John Lawson, of Kansas; Sophia, wife of 
Henry Morgan, of Decatur county; Mar- 
tha, wife of George Hargit; and Fidelia, 
wife of John \V. Miller. Mrs. Hargit and 
Mrs. Miller are both deceased, and both left 
several children. 

Samuel A. Donnell, who resides at the 
old homestead where he was born, was or- 
phaned when he was about ten years old, 
both of his parents dying in 1838. He then 
dwelt with his paternal grandfather and 
Uncle John C. for about ten years, and at 
his majority returned to the old farm near 
Spring Hill, where he has continued to live 
until the present time. He maintains the 
same high principles of conduct which char- 
acterized his ancestors, and is held in the 
same measure of regard by his friends and 
neighbors. He is a practical farmer, every- 
thing about his homestead giving evidence 
of the constant care and wisdom which he 
exercises in the management of his afifairs. 
He is confidently relied upon to do every- 
thing within his power to advance the wel- 
fare of the community in which his lot is 
cast. Following in the footsteps of his pre- 
decessors, he is a member of the Presby- 
terian church. 

The marriage of Samuel -\. Donnell and 
Miss Hadassah M. Foster, a daughter of 
Robert C. and Nancy A. (Rankin) Foster, 
was celebrated on the loth of February, 
1857. .\ son and two daughters bless their 
union, named respectively Robert Foster, 
Jennie M. and Nettie May. The elder 
daughter, Jennie, is the wife of Robert S. 
Lowe, and the vounger one is the wife of 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Adam R. Meek, both well-to-do and re- 
spected citizens of this county. The entire 
family of Mr. Donnell are identified with 
the Presbyterian church and are liberal sup- 
porters of all worthy educational, religious 
and philanthropic work. 



[SA.\C SRFTOX. 



Mr. Sefton is one of the substantial men 
of Decatur county and an honored citizen 
of Grecnsburg. where he has resided for 
the i)ast three _\ears. since t;i\ing up the 
active management of the farm. He was 
born in I'.utlcr county. Ohio. September 28, 
1S37. llis father. William .Sefton. was a 
son of Henry Sefton. a native of Ireland 
and the son of an army officer. Henry Sef- 
ton came to this country and was a pioneer 
of Butler county. Ohio, where he carried 
on farming, and there died of cholera in 
1834. His children were: William, father 
of our subject: Henry, who died in Ohio: 
Mana, Afrs. .\. Scott: Jane. Mrs. Hughes: 
Ellen. Mrs. Hungerford: and Sarah, Mrs. 
Brevoort. William Sefton was born in But- 
ler county, Ohio. February 22. 1806, and 
after his marriage, and the birth of five 
children, he removed to In<lian;i. in 18:58. 
settling in Decatur county, on land entered 
by his father. He there improved a good 
farm and became a successful and leading 
citizen. He gradually added to his prop- 
erty until he was the owner of a large tract 
of land. He was cautious and conservative 
in his business operations, and seldom made 
mistakes in his investments. Personally 
he was a man of fine character, social in his 
disposition, of undoubted integrity, and 
honored in all his dealings. He had a high 



standard of morality, never having used 
any bad language, and lived up to the com- 
mandments to the best of his knowledge, 
although he never united with any church. 
Mr. Sefton was a Democrat in his political 
views, and popular with his party, although 
he never aspired to office. He once served 
as trustee, at a time when it took only three 
men to transact all the business for the 
township of Clinton, where he lived. His 
death took place October 29. 1868, from a 
violent attack of pneumonia. 

Mr. Sefton was married in 1830 to Cath- 
erine Shuck, who was born in I'.utlcr coun- 
ty. Ohio. May 5, i8or>. She was a daughter 
of Michael Shuck, of Pennsylvania-Dutch 
descent, who was a prosperous farmer in 
Butler county, where he lived until he be- 
came quite old. .After his family had mar- 
ried and scattered he came to Decatur 
county, and spent his last days with his 
daughter, and here he died October 19. 
1855, at the advanced age of eighty-eight 
years. He was a conscientious, religious 
man, and lived an upright life. His children 
were si.x in nmnber: Sarah became the wife 
of Governor \\'illiam Bebb. of Ohio: Eliza 
(Mrs. .\. Lawrence), resides in Bartholo- 
mew comity. Indiana: Peggy (I\Irs. Mul- 
holland). resides in Butler county: Han- 
nah, who died near \'evay. Indiana, was the 
wife of John Shull: Polly (Mrs. Hall), is a 
resident of \'evay: and Catherine, the moth- 
er of our subject, died in Decatur comity. 
Mrs. Sefton was a woman of many admira- 
ble traits, being a devoted wife and mother, 
and was a consistent member of the Meth- 
odist church. To the parents of our sub- 
ject nine children were born, as follows: 
Henry, born January 25, 1833, lives in Col- 
orado; Eliza (Mrs. Scott) was born April 



284 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



2, 1834, and makes her home in Ohio; Eliz- 
abeth, born June 22, 1835, never married, 
and died August 19, 1880; Michael, born 
April 9, 1836, died June 15. 1869, leaving a 
wife and one child, the wife being a daugh- 
ter of James Hamilton and a sister of R. A. 
Hamilton; Isaac is the subject of this 
sketch; Edward, born January 31, 1839, 
is a farmer in Decatur county; Mary, now 
Mrs. Louis Willie, was born April 19, 1840; 
Sarah, born October 13, 1844, is the widow 
of John Anderson and lives in Greensburg; 
and William W., was born August 11, 1846, 
and is a farmer in Howard county, Indiana. 

Isaac Sefton received only a limited com- 
mon-school education. He remained at 
home with his parents until he was twenty- 
eight years old. then married and settled 
on land which was owned by his father, and 
which, after the death of the latter, became 
his own property. The land is in Clinton 
township, Decatur county, one and a half 
miles south of Spring Hill, and comprises 
one hundred and sixty acres. There was 
only a log cabin on the place when he took 
possession of it, and he at once set to work 
to make improvements. A commodious 
frame house was built, timber was cleared 
away, fruit trees were planted and crops 
were sown, and by degrees he purchased 
more land, until at present he owns three 
farms in Decatur county, five hundred and 
thirty-four acres in all, and a farm of sev- 
enty-one acres in Boone county, Indiana. 

Mr. Sefton has carried on general farm- 
ing, and has raised cattle and hogs sufficient 
for his own use, but lias ne\er done much 
trading in stock. He has been careful in 
his investments, has never indulged in spec- 
ulation, and as a consequence has never 
met with anv reverses in fortune. In 1886 



he bought a fine property in Greensburg, 
consisting of two lots, on which were two 
houses. — one a frame structure and the 
other a brick building. Ten years later, in 
1896. he retired from active business and 
took up his residence in the city of Greens- 
burg. He has rented his farm and employs 
his time in looking after his various inter- 
ests. In his political views Mr. Sefton is 
in sympathy with the Democratic party, al- 
though he has never cared for office, finding 
his time fully taken up in attending to his 
personal affairs. Both he and his wife are 
consistent and worthy members of the First 
Methodist church at Greensburg, in which 
he is a steward. 

Mr. Sefton was married October 25, 1865. 
to Mary E. Myers, and the union has proved 
a most happy one, Mrs. Sefton being a lady 
of many excellent qualities, and one who 
has been a true helpmeet to her husliand 
and a devoted mother to her children, two 
in number, namely: Katie, born November 
13, 1868. is the wife of Frank R. Robbins. 
and has two children, Lelia N. and William 
S.; and Cora, born March 26, 1878, mar- 
ried W. H. Robbins, and has one child. 
Willa, who was born on Easter Sunday, 
April 2, 1899. 

Mrs. Sefton is the daughter of Thomas 
S. and Mahala Myers, who were married, 
in Decatur county, in 1843. Mr. Myers was 
a son of Thomas Myers, who was of Penn- 
sylvania-Dutch descent, and settled in De- 
catur county in an early day. He was a 
leading member of the Baptist church. 
His family com]3rised six children, namely: 
.\nderson, \'iana, Thomas S., Margaret, 
John and Edith. Thomas S. was a pros^ 
perous farmer and was prominently identi- 
fied with the agricultural pursuits of Deca- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



285 



tur county. In 1878. he unfortunately met 
with an accident, by which his spinal col- 
umn was injured and he was incapacitated 
for further labor. He removed to Greens- 
burg, where he was a constant invalid for 
nine years, and there died on October 18, 
1887. at the age of sixty-two years. He was 
a consistent member of the Baptist church. 
His wife was a daughter of Walter Bradon. 
who was of Irish descent, but who was born 
in the United States in 1797. Twelve years 
after his marriage he 1)rought his wife on 
horseback to Indiana, settling on a farm in 
Decatur county. He prospered in his af- 
fairs and took an active interest in the work 
of the Methodist church, to which he was 
a most liberal contributor. In those pioneer 
days there were few if any churches, and 
his house was used as a place of worship 
and was the home of itinerant preachers 
who traveled from one place to the other, 
holding meetings wherever a few faithful 
souls could be gathered together. Mr. Bra- 
don died in 1879, his wife having passed 
away in 1855. Their children were: Maha- 
la, Robert. John. Richard. Jane (Mrs. Rus- 
sell). Landa and James. Mrs. Sefton's par- 
ents had seven children, as follows: Mary 
E.. Robert W., Emma {Mrs. Gilmore). Mor- 
gan. Willard. Nevada (Mrs. W. S. Minor) 
and il aggie B. (Mrs. Stapp). 



E. R. FORSYTH. 



The Forsyth family is of Scotch descent, 
its inmiediate ancestors emigrating from 
Edinburg to New Jersey during colonial 
days and making their home in Burlington 
comity, that state. There John, the grand- 
father of E. R. Forsvth. was born and there 



he was married to Elizabeth Antrim, of the 
same county, who was of Irish descent and 
one of the heirs of the famous Antrim es- 
tate. In 1829 the family removed to Indi- 
ana, settling near Milford. Decatur county, 
where Mr. Forsyth entered a tract of gov- 
ernment land. Here he followed farming 
until about i860, when, with other members 
of the family, he went to Iowa, where he 
spent the remainder of his life. He was 
reared in the Quaker faith, and was a quiet, 
unobtrusive man. industrious and e.xem- 
plary in his habits. He lived to the remark- 
able age of one hundred and one years, lack- 
ing seven days, at last falling asleep like a 
wearied child, without ])ain or illness of any 
kind. 

.■\. R. For.syth. the fatiicr of our subject. 
was the eldest of seven children, three 
daughters and four sons, born to John and 
Elizabeth (.\ntrim) Forsyth. He was born 
June 10, 1810, and was nineteen years old 
when his father's family took up their res- 
idence in Decatur county. He obtained 
his education -in the district schools, to 
which he has since added by extensive read- 
ing. He has always been fond of books, 
and as a boy took the first newspaper in 
his neighborhood, and later in life became 
the owner of one of the largest miscella- 
neous libraries in the county. Mr. Forsyth 
traveled extensively, having visited Europe 
and other countries in 1850-51. and again 
in 1867. and he brought from there many 
valuable paintings and art treasures. He 
was engaged in banking for many years 
j and was well and favorably known through- 
out the county as a man of strict integrity 
and upright life. For forty-seven years he 
was active in religious work in the Presby- 
terian church, in which he was an elder. 



286 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Personally he was simple in his tastes and 
habits, a lover of books and of home, whose 
pleasures he preferred to any allurements 
of public life. In 1868 he was one of the 
organizers of the Roan County Iron Com- 
pany, which started with ten million dollars 
capital and for many years was a very pros- 
perous concern. The mother of our subject 
was by maiden name Elizaljeth Riggs. 

E. R. Forsyth was born in Greensburg. 
September i. 1844. and was educated in the 
schools of that place. In 1867 he accom- 
panied his father to Europe and on his re- 
turn became associated with General Wild- 
er for three years, until his impaired health 
compelled him to give up business for a 
time. In 1872 he was made cashier in the 
First National Bank of Greenslnn-g, which 
position he held until 1897, since which 
time he has Ijeen engaged in the life insur- 
ance business. Mr. Forsyth has always 
been actively interested in religious affairs 
and when only twenty-nine years of age 
was elected an elder in the Presbyterian 
church. He was married, in 1876, to Cath- 
arine Mills, of Middlefield, Connecticut, 
and they have one daughter, Elizabeth. 



OLIVER DEEM. 



One of tlie successful farmers of Decatur 
county is Oliver Deem, who has steadily 
worked his way upward till he is now ac- 
counted one of the substantial citizens of 
the community. His landed possessions are 
extensi\e and through the capable man- 
agement of his business interests he has ac- 
quired a very desirable capital. He was 
born in Washington township, April 19, 
1640, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Rinear) 



Deem. But little is known of the early his- 
tory of the family, save that three brothers 
of the name of Deem, natives of Germany, 
came to America in colonial days and joined 
the army in the Revolutionary war. One 
was killed in that memorable struggle for 
independence and the other brothers were 
afterward separated. The parents of our 
subject were married in Ohio, but the moth- 
er was a nati\-e of Pennsylvania. At an 
early day they came to Indiana, where the 
father purchased land consisting of a wild 
tract, only a few acres having been placed 
under cultivation. A little cabin consti- 
tuted the improvements thereon and so the 
arduous task of developing the land and 
making a good home remained to the new- 
owner. With resolute purpose he began 
the work and energetically carried on farm- 
ing until his death in 1853. His wife long 
sur\i\ed him, passing away in 1896. Her 
last days were spent with her sister, who 
was the wife of Hon. Milton Sailor, a con- 
gressman. Mr. Deem was a supporter of 
the Whig party, but never sought or de- 
sired political preferment. A man of known 
probity, he was frequently called upon to 
settle estates, and his advice was often 
sought by his neighbors, for his judgment 
was unbiased and reliable. He was twice 
married and had four children by the first 
union, but all are now deceased. The chil- 
dren of the second marriage are Mrs. Mary 
Heaton; Mrs. Catharine Daily; John; Wil- 
liam, who is living in Greensbm-g; Mrs 
Eliza Stewart; Lemuel, who died leaving 
a wife and one child; Mrs. Elizabeth Whit- 
ton; ( )li\er; William, who died while serv 
ing his country in the civil war; Thomas 
H., who also (lied in the army; and Mrs 
Nora Cory. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



287 



Oliver Deem, of tliis review, lost his 
fatlicr when lie was only citilit years of age, 
i)ul lie remained on the old homestead until 
he had attained his majority, being under 
the care of a guardian. When the estate 
was settled up he inherited eighteen acres 
of land and one hundred and eighty dollars. 
.At the age of twenty-five he was married 
and took up his abode at the old homestead 
farm, where he remained until 1888, when 
he remoNcd to Adams. .\ year later, how- 
ever, he purchased a farm near that town 
and has since engaged in it§ cultivation, 
lie is a man of great industry and energy 
and his success has not come through spec- 
ulation, I)ut as the result of earnest and 
consecutive labor. As his financial re- 
sources ha\e increased he has made judi- 
cious investments in real estate and is now 
the owner of four farms, comprising seven 
hundred acres of land. His property in- 
terests are valued at over sixty-three thou- 
sand dollars. When he came into the pos- 
session of the money from his father's es- 
tate he loaned it and has since engaged in 
loaning money on good security. He is con- 
servative and has met with few losses. He 
manifests keen discernment in his business 
affairs; and this, combined with his reso- 
lute purpose, has enabled him to gain a 
leading position among the substantial cit- 
izens of Decatur county. Each year his 
possessions are steadily augmented and his 
success is most creditable. 

Mr. Deem was united in marriage to Miss 
Lydia Shellhorn, who was born in Decatur 
county. December 22. 1846, a member of an 
honored old family of this locality. Her 
parents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Hewitt) 
Shellhorn. were natives of New Jersey, and 
during the pioneer epoch in the history of 



the state came to Indiana. The father fol- 
lowed farming and built the I'icayune. one 
of the first mills of this section of the coun- 
try. He also handled some stock and se- 
cured from his business investments a good 
income. His dealings were honorable and 
at all times his upright life connnanded 
the confidence and good will of his fellow 
men. Of the Baptist church he was a con- 
sistent member, and in his political faith he 
was a Republican. Both he anil his wife 
are now deceased. Their children are La- 
fayette; Lydia, wife of our subject; Lavira. 
who is married and lives in Indianapolis; 
Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Mr. Allen, a Pres- 
byterian minister of Kokomo, Indiana; 
Phoebe, wife of \\"illiam Roberts; and 
John L.. who is living on the old home- 
stead. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Deem were born 
two children: Addison, who was born De- 
cember 31, 1869, and died on the 22d of 
December, 1891; and Otis A., who was 
born November 26. 1874. Mrs. Deem was 
called to her final rest June 28, 1899. She 
was a faithful and devoted wife and mother 
and a lady whose many excellencies of char- 
acter endeared her to all. In early life she 
was a member of the Mount Moriah Bap- 
tist church and after her marriage she at- 
tended the Methodist church with her hus- 
band and was one of the most zealous 
workers. Mr. Deem has been a member 
of the Methodist church since the age of 
nineteen years and his upright life is in har- 
mony with his professions. He is an advo- 
cate of Republican principles, but at local 
elections, where no issue is involved, votes 
for the man rather than the party. His 
entire life has been passed in this county, 
and the many who have known him from 
boyhood are numbered among his staunch- 



DECATUR COUNTY 



est friends, a good indication of his honor- 
able career. 



WILLIAM JAMES ROBINSON. 

The Hfe of a good man is far-reaching 
in its influence, and when the biographer 
undertakes to trace the career of so good a 
man and true a citizen as was the late Wil- 
liam James Robinson, of Adams township, 
Decatur county, he feels that the task is a 
pleasant one. In many respects his life 
was not an easy one. especially in the pio- 
neer days, but he was a man of great force 
of character, and one by one he trampled 
all obstacles under his feet and rose to yet 
greater things. 

His father. John M. Robinson, was a na- 
tive of Harrison county, Virginia (now 
West Virginia). November 23. 1781. being 
the date of his birth. On the 7th of March, 
182 1, he arrived, with his family, in Adams 
township, Decatur county. Indiana, then 
an unbroken wilderness, where he had lo- 
cated a homestead October 8, 1820, and 
this place, now a finely improved farm, has 
never since left the possession of the family. 
Not only was John M. Robinson a practi- 
cal, energetic business man and thrifty ag- 
riculturist, but he also inaugurated many of 
the early improvements in this section, thus 
materially aiding in the founding of the 
county's prosperity. For his day, he was a 
man of good education, and, there being 
no schools here for some years after his ar- 
rival, he established one himself, holding 
sessions in a log building situated just 
across the road from the present family 
residence. His own children and many of 
the neighbor's children were glad to avail 
themselves of the privileges of this school. 



and among his pupils there were several 
who later acquired fame in the professional 
and political world, as. for example, Thom- 
as A. Hendricks, Lafayette Freeman and 
Dr. Robbins. His life work well rounded, 
and his entire duty towards his family. 
neighbors and countrymen generally con- 
scientiously performed, he was summoned 
to his reward, April 4, 1843. To himself 
and wife four children were born, namely: 
Julia, May 31, 1813; William J., April 23. 
1815; Enoch Ferris. IMarch 22. 1817, and 
Mary. December 17. 1818. 

Hon. William James Robinson and his 
sister Julia remained on the old homestead 
and never married, their lives being quietly 
and happily spent together for more than 
four-score years. Early in the '30s. after 
they had completed their elementary edu- 
cation under the instruction of their re- 
spected father, the brother and sister be- 
came students in the old Miami University 
at Oxford. Ohio. Later they both taught 
in Franklin College, Indiana, the sister 
ha\'ing charge of the preparatory course, 
while the brother taught the higher 
branches. In 1843, at the death of their 
father, they returned to their old home, 
where they passed the rest of their lives. 
engaged in the peaceful vocations of their 
forefathers. 

Loved and respected by all of his asso- 
ciates and acquaintances. Mr. Robinson oc- 
cupied a prominent place in this community, 
and was honored by being chosen to rep- 
resent the counties of Rush and Decatur in 
the state legislature, on several occasions. 
There he made a creditable record, doing 
w liate\er he might on behalf of the people 
whom he represented, and using his influ- 
ence for causes which he Ijelieved to be 



DECATUR COUNTY 



right and just. Tliough quiet and unas- 
suming in manner, he was a man of strong- 
convictions and performed his duty in ac- 
cordance witli those beliefs. He kept post- 
ed upon all of the great events afifecting 
the welfare of this country, and even the 
night before his death he read an article in 
the Journal relative to the president's mes- 
sage to congress and expressed his grati- 
fication at the chief executive's wisdom and 
conservatism in the Cuban matter. His 
long and useful life came to a peaceful close 
at his old home. December 7, 1898, about 
one year after the death of his faithful com- 
Ijanion. his sister Julia, who had entered 
tiie silent land September 7, 1897. 

William Robinson Pleak, the favorite 
ne])hew and namesake of our subject and 
heir to his property, is a son of Joseph D. 
and Mary Jane (Robinson) Pleak. He was 
born in this township, November 20, 1852, 
and, as his mother died when he was an 
infant of but three weeks, he was reared 
i)y his grandmother, who died January 5, 
1868. Through the kindness and liberaUty 
of William J. Robinson, the uncle, the lad 
received a good education an<l. after pur- 
suing a preparatory course in what is now 
known as Butler College, near Indianapo- 
lis, he entered the Indiana State University, 
where he profitably spent two years, and in 
1877 was graduated at Cornell University, 
his junior and senior years having been 
passed there. As he possessed undoul)ted 
talent and a keen, logical mind, it seemed 
best that he should enter the legal profes- 
sion, and he commenced studying to that 
end in the office of Colonel Robert S. Rob- 
ertson, of Fort Wayne. Indiana. Owing to 
failing health, however, he returned to the I 
pursuit of his forefathers, agriculture, and 



since the demise of his uncle he has resided 
upon the old homestead which his grand- 
father located almost eighty years ago. 

Following the example of his revered 
uncle, he is an ardent Republican, and in 
1887 it was his proud privilege to re])rcsent 
the people of this county in the state as- 
sembly, then convening for the first ses- 
sions in the new state-house at Indianaijolis. 
At present (1899) '""e is serving his fellow 
citizens as a member of the Decatur county 
council. He has naught but gratitude and 
love for his uncle, who so long and loyally 
provided for him, afifordiiig him the means 
for education and trax'cl. ami luially be- 
queathing to him the valuable l\ol)inson 
homestead. 

The first marriage of Mr. Pleak was to 
Miss Laura Baker, whose death took place 
in 1879. The only son of that union, Ray- 
mond L., born November 15. 1879, is a 
student in the University of Michigan and 
is a young man of great promise. The lady 
who now bears the name of Mrs. W. R. 
Pleak was formerly Miss Mattie Throp. 
The family stands high in the esteem of 
the citizens of this community, and, like 
the Robinsons, their place could not be 
easily filled. 



J. V. SCHOFIELD. M. 1). 

Probably there is no more popular phy- 
sician and surgeon in Grecnsburg, or, in- 
deed, in Decatur county, than the gentle- 
man whose name appears at the head of this 
sketch. He stands deservedly high in his 
profession and is called into consultation 
by physicians in various parts of this and 
adjoining counties, his skill. |)articularly in 
surgical cases, being widely recognized. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



The parents of the Doctor, Joshua and 
Lucretia (Jowett) Schofield, were natives 
of Hanley, Yorkshire, England. His ma- 
ternal grandfather. Samuel Jowett, was of 
the so-called "gentry," in England, and, 
being an elder son. inherited large estates. 
He emigrated to the United States with 
his family, including his daughter Lucretia. 
in 1830, and, locating in Dearborn county, 
bought a farm, and remained there for 
twenty-five years. Then, disposing of his 
property, he returned to his native land, 
where he eventually died. Samuel S. Scho- 
field, the paternal grandfather of the Doc- 
tor, also crossed the ocean in 1830, and 
took up his residence in Dearborn county, 
and some ten or fifteen years later returned 
to England, there passing his remaining 
years. Joshua Schofield was a woolen man- 
ufacturer, and was actively engaged in busi- 
ness at A'ernon until his death, in 1863, 
when he was only forty-three years of age. 
He had three children. The eldest, Samuel, 
is engaged in the management of a woolen 
factory at Madison. Indiana, and Joshua 
also resides at Madison. 

Dr. J. V. Schofield was horn in \'ernon, 
Indiana. April 6. 1856, and was in his sev- 
enth year when he went to Madison to 
live. He received a good education, and 
left Hanover College, in his sophomore 
year, in order to take up the study of med- 
icine with Dr. G. A. Kunkler, a celebrated 
physician of Madison, he having graduated 
in medicine at Vienna, Austria. In 1878 
our subject was given the degree of Doctor 
of Medicine, in the Miami Medical College, 
and soon afterward he established an office 
at Harris City, six miles south of Greens- 
burg. There he was successfully engaged 
in practice for nine years, at the expira- 



tion of which period he came to Greens- 
burg. He has made somewhat of a spe- 
cialty of diseases of the eye, and, as pre- 
viously stated, has been very successful as 
a surgeon. For several years he has been 
the local surgeon for the Big Four Rail- 
road, and for about a decade he has been a 
member of the County and State Medical 
Societies and the American Medical As- 
sociation and the American Medical Asso- 
ciation of Railway Surgeons. For five 
vears he served as a member of the local 
board of pension examiners, being its sec- 
retary during Harrison's administration. 

Socially the Doctor is identified with the 
Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity, 
being past master of Lodge No. 476, F. 
and A. M., and past chancellor of Lodge 
No. 148, K. of P. He takes great interest 
in whatever tends to uplift and benefit hu- 
manity, and is a loyal, patriotic citizen. In 
1886 he married Belle Smalley, of this coun- 
ty, and their two children, named Walter 
D. and Mabel L., respectively, are well 
worthy of their parents' pride. 



LUTHER D. BRADEN. 

.A. man is judged by the company he 
keeps, and a town or village, to a great ex- 
tent, by the kind of newspapers it supports. 
There is no calling at once so fascinating, 
so laborious and so responsible as that of 
the editor, be he in charge of a city or coun- 
try journal. The profession requires intel- 
ligence, general information, conscientious- 
ness, progressiveness, and, above all. tact; 
and without these qualities no one can hope 
to make a success in the management and 
publication of a newspaper. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



291 



Luther Donnell Braden, the gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch, and who is 
editor and proprietor of the Greensburg 
Standard, one of the oldest and best known 
papers in Indiana, has proven his ability to 
publish a clean, newsy and up-to-date sheet; 
and the people have sustained him, as is 
shown by the extensive circulation of the 
Standard and the high c'ass of its subscrib- 
ers. He was born in Clay township, De- 
catur county, November 5, 1861, and is a 
son of Robert and Pamela (Anderson) Bra- 
den. On his father's side he is of Irish 
descent, while his mother's ancestors came 
from England. His paternal grandfather, 
William Braden. was a native of county 
Tyrone, in the north of Ireland, and in 1795 
emigrated to the United States, settling 
first in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. From 
there he went to Scott county, Kentucky, 
and in 1822 removed to Clarksburg, De- 
catur county, Indiana, where his death 
occurred soon afterward. He was a 
farmer by occupation, and led a busy and 
useful life. He married a Miss Jackson, 
also a native of Ireland, and they had a fam- 
ily of nine children. 

Robert Braden, father of our subject, 
was born in Scott county, Kentucky, July 
II, 1814, and was eight years of age when 
his parents came to Decatur county. In 
1839 he located in Clay township, where 
he resided until his death, in 1887. He 
became one of the most extensive farmers 
an<l stock-raisers in that section, and was 
widely known as a man of strong character 
and upright life. He was a charter member 
of the Christian church at Milford, which 
was founded in 1842, and was one of its 
officers as long as the church had an exist- 
ence. In politics he was an ardent Repub- 



lican, and was an earnest Union man during 
the civil war, assisting the government as 
best he could in its efforts to maintain the 
cause of truth and justice. 

In 1838 Mr. Braden was united in mar- 
riage to Pamela, daughter of Joseph An- 
derson. Her father laid out and named the 
town of Andersonville, Franklin county, 
Indiana, and there resided until his death, 
which occurred when he had attained the 
advanced age of ninety years. He was a 
merchant as well as farmer and was one of 
the wealthiest men in that part of the state. 
His birth occurred in Campbell county, 
Kentucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Braden four 
children were born, as follows: Joseph A., 
who lives in Rossville, Illinois, where he is 
engaged in the real-estate and insurance 
business and is also serving as justice of the 
peace. He served during the civil war in 
the Seventy-sixth Indiana Volunteers. The 
only man killed in that regiment was his 
cousin, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bra- 
den, who fell near Henderson, Kentucky. 
Jane, the second of the family, married 
Thomas A. Shirk, a wealthy farmer of Jack- 
son township. Decatur county, and a vet- 
eran of the civil war, in which he saw active 
service as a member of the Thirty-seventh 
Indiana. Jeremy A., a retircil farmer, now 
residing in Cireenshurg, still owns a large 
farm west of the city. He servetl for two 
terms as a trustee of Clay township, being 
the first Republican elected for a number of 
years. He was twice candidate for county 
auditor at primary elections, and won the 
second highest number of votes when there 
were seven or eight other candidates. 

Luther D. Braden, the subject of this 
review, is the youngest child of the family 
and spent his boyhood days in Clay town- 



292 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ship, where he attended the public schools. 
In 1878 he entered Hartsville College, in 
which he spent his time, with some inter- 
vals, until 1882, leaving the school when he 
w-as in his junior year. In 1883 he began 
teaching, continuing in that occupation for 
seven years. During this time he was a 
student in the Northern Indiana Normal 
School, at Valparaiso, for a short period. 
He was county superintendent from 1889 
until 1 89 1, and was principal of the schools 
of St. Paul, this county, from 1891 until 
1893. In the latter year Mr. Braden came 
to Greensburg, and for one year was a mem- 
ber of the firm of J. C. Pulse & Company, 
wholesale grocers. His taste and inclina- 
tion, however, were more literary than com- 
mercial, and he decided upon a wider and 
more congenial field of labor. On the ist 
of October, 1894, he purchased the Greens- 
l)urg Standard, the oldest paper in the 
county,it having been established in 1835, by 
John Thompson, grandfather of Mrs. Bra- 
den, and during its long career it has near- 
ly all of the time been in the possession of 
some of the family. It advocates the prin- 
ciples of the Republican party and is always 
on the side of religion and morality. The 
Standard is emphatically a family news- 
paper, and finds its way into a majority of 
the homes of the country people, where it 
is always a w-elcome visitor. 

Mr. Braden is somewhat of a politician, 
so far, at least, as taking an active interest 
in the success of his party is concerned, and 
he does all in his power to secure the selec- 
tion of the best men as candidates for the 
offices. In church work he is equally effi- 
cient, being an elder and meml)er of the 
official board of the Christian church, and 
su]:)erintendent of the Sunday-school. He 



also belongs to Greensburg Lodge, No. 36, 
F. and A. M., and to Greensburg Chapter, 
No. 8, R. A. M. He was married Decem- 
ber 17, 1890, to Miss Ella, daughter of 
Orral Tliompson, of Greensburg, and they 
have one child, Marie. 



DAVID A. ARDERY. 

This gentleman is a representative of the 
farming interests of Decatur county. He 
was born in Fugit township, in this coun- 
ty, July 8, 1837, and is a son of Thomas 
and jNIartha (McKee) Ardery. His father 
w as a son of John Ardery, a native of Ire- 
land, who crossing the Atlantic to America 
took up his abode in Kentucky, where he 
became a farmer and slave owner, spending 
his remaining days on the old homestead 
there. His children were John, Andrew, 
James, and Thomas, the last two becoming 
residents of Indiana. It was in the year 
1833 that Thomas Ardery took up his abode 
in Fugit township, Decatur county, where 
he purchased a farm upon which he made 
many substantial improvements. He carried 
on agricultural pursuits for many years, 
becoming the owner of four hundred acres 
of land. In his business enterprises he 
prospered and his property became very 
valuable. His political support was given 
to the Whig party, but he never sought or 
desired official preferment. In his relig- 
ious belief he was a Presbyterian. He pos- 
sessed a genial, jovial disposition, was of 
a social nature and was always welcome in 
any assemblage. His standard of integrity 
and honor was very high and he had the 
res]iect of all who knew him. He died in 
1846, at the age of forty-seven years, and 



DECATUR COUNTY 



his wife, long sun-iving him, passed away 
in 1869, at the age of seventy-one years. 
She was a daughter of David McKee, of 
Scotland, a farmer, whose family numbered 
eight children: David, Wallace, Mrs. Eliza 
Vanderien, Mrs. Nancy McClintock, Mrs. 
Ardery, Mrs. Cynthia Reynolds, who is 
yet living, at the age of ninety-one years, 
Margaret, and Mrs. Elizaheili M. Hamil- 
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas .\rdery had 
.seven children, as follows: Mrs. Jane Smith, 
Mrs. Mary Walters, Mrs. Martha Thomp- 
son, Mrs. Eliza Speer, Mrs. Nancy Throop, 
David .v.. and John, wiio died at the age 
of twenty-seven years. 

David A. Ardery was reared on the old 
home farm and acquired his education in 
the district schools. He was only eight 
years of age at the time of his father's 
death, but the mother carefully reared her 
children. Before he had attained his ma- 
jority he began trading in stock and also 
invested his money by purchasing the in- 
terests of the other heirs in the old home- 
stead. He remained with his mother until 
after her death, and was then married, be- 
ginning his domestic life on the old home 
farm. Subsequently he sold that property 
and purchased one hundred and eighty 
acres, to which he has since added until his 
landed possessions now aggregate foyr 
hundred and forty acres, all of which are 
under a high state of cultivation. The fields 
are well tilled and are divided by fences 
that are kept in good repair. Sul)stantial 
improvements on the place indicate the en- 
terprise of the owner and none of the ac- 
cessories of the model farm are there lack- 
ing. He raises, buys and feeds stock, which 
he himself markets, and in this way he adds 
materiallv to his income. 



In 1 87 1 Mr. Ardery was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Teressa Lowe, who was born 
in Decatur county, October 5, 1852, a 
daughter of Alfred and Isabel (Gingley) 
Lowe, the former a native of Indiana and 
the latter of Pennsylvania. They were 
married in Decatur county and the father 
carried on farming as a life work. He was 
a prominent citizen, gave his political sup- 
port to the Whig party and served as county 
commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe were 
Presbyterians in their religious faith and in 
that belief they reared their children. They 
had eight children, namely: Mrs. Ardery, 
Selh, Charles, William, Edward. .Mrs. Kate 
Hamilton, William and Arthur. Our sub- 
ject and his wife now have five children — 
Mary, Martha, Clara, Samuel and Hellen, 
and the family circle yet remains unbroken 
by the hand of death. The parents hold 
membership in the Presbyterian church and 
in his political views Mr. Ardery is a Repul)- 
lican, but has never sought or desired the 
honors or emoluments of public office. His 
time and energy he devotes to his business 
interests, in which he has met with cred- 
itable success, and throughout the com- 
munity he is recognized as a valued citizen. 



DA\-1D L, MORdW. 

David L. Morgan, of Fugit township, 
Decatur county, is a representative of one 
of the early and well known families of this 
part of Indiana. His father. John Morgan, 
was l)orn near Penn Van. Vates county, 
Xcw York, April 26. 1801. and was a son of 
Thomas Morgan, a native of county Down, 
Ireland, who came to America when a 
young man. His brother. Torrence Mor- 



294 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



gan, started about the same time as passen- 
ger on another vessel, but was never heard 
from afterward and his fate remained un- 
known. Thomas Morgan became a resident 
of Yates county, New York, and when his 
son John was about sixteen years of age 
removed with his family to Indiana. This 
was soon after the close of the second war 
with England and but a short time after 
Indiana was admitted into the Union. The 
present generation have but little concep- 
tion of the slow, and what would now seem 
tedious, methods of travel eighty or eighty- 
five years ago. Overland by wagon, often 
through a pathless forest or following a sim- 
ple Indian trail or taking advantage of the 
current of some stream down which they 
would float on a flat-boat, — these were the 
means by which the emigrants of long ago 
reached their destinations in the wilds of 
Indiana. 

The family of Thomas Morgan came from 
their home in the Emj)ire state by way of 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and thence on a 
flat-boat down the Ohio river to North 
Bend, Indiana, which was then the home 
of General W' illiam Henry Harrison. They 
resided on the Harrison place for a short 
time, but soon removed to Dearborn coun- 
ty. This was in the year 1817. The family 
consisted of Thomas Morgan, his wife and 
their children, namely: John. Mrs. ]\Iary 
Gififord, Griswold, Mrs. Ruth Alden, Mrs. 
Baldredge and Hannah. All of that genera- 
tion have now passed away. Thomas Mor- 
gan did not long survive his arrival in this 
state, being accidentally drowned in Tan- 
ner's creek at the age of fifty years. 

John Morgan, the father of our subject, 
attained his majority in Indiana, and was 
married, in Dearborn countv, this state. 



when about twenty-one years of age, to 
Miss Clarissa Stewart, and they had six 
children, namely: Torrence G., Daniel, 
John H. and Ruth A., all deceased, and 
Benjamin F. and Sarah, still living. Tor- 
rence G. at his death left a son, Atwell Mor- 
gan, who is now living in Andersonville, 
Indiana, where he is a successful and highly 
respected merchant. Ruth A. married 
Jesse Lawson, a prosperous farmer and 
stock-dealer, and she died December 28, 
1873. For his second wife Mr. Morgan 
married Hulda (Lewis) Wilson, then a 
widow. She was a daughter of John Lewis, 
who was born in Sullivan county, Tennes- 
see, October 17, 1793, and came to this 
state when a boy with his father at about 
the time or before the war of 1812. He 
took part in the Indian wars of that period 
and took a prominent part also in the events 
which form the early history of the state. 
The family settled on Salt creek, in Frank- 
lin county, and later John Lewis removed 
to Rush county, but subsequently returned 
to Franklin county, making his home at 
Andersonville until his death, which oc- 
curred April 7, 1 86 1. He became quite 
noted for his successful treatment of dis- 
eases by mesmeric or magnetic influence, 
and possessed a good general knowledge of 
medicine. He was one of the noted men of 
his day, his house was celebrated for its 
hospitality and he was both widely known 
and highly respected. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Susannah Barber, was 
also a native of Tennessee. They became 
the parents of nine children, seven of whom 
were sons. Several of them are still living 
and are prominent citizens of the various 
communities in which they reside. 

By his second marriage, John Morgan 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



295 



liad four children, — Thomas G., George 
\\'., Mary Ang-eline and David L., but the 
last named is the only one now living. The 
father removed from Dearborn county to 
Andersohville, Franklin county, becoming 
one of the pioneers of the latter place. He 
was also one of the early merchants there 
and was long a prominent citizen of that 
county. In 1849 he removed to the farm 
in Fugit township which his son David now 
owns, and there resided until 1874, when 
he returned to Andersonville, where his 
death occurred August i, 1888. His wife 
died March 5, 1899, at the age of eighty- 
one years, her birth having occurred Jan- 
uary 1 6. 1 818. 

During his active business career John 
Morgan was one of the best known citizens 
of his section of Indiana. His greatest ac- 
c|uaintance probably came through his work 
as a local preacher of the United Brethren 
church, in which capacity he served for 
sixty years. It has been said of him that 
he preached more funeral sermons and 
united more couples in marriage during 
his long career as a minister than any other 
preacher of his time in Indiana. He was 
ever active in promoting the moral and 
religious growth of the community in which 
he lived and his influence was widely felt on 
the side of right. He was a strong advo- 
cate of temperance and organized a Wash- 
ington society at Andersonville in the early 
days of that order. He also organized the 
United Brethren church at .Andersonville 
and likewise formed a class at his home in 
Fugit townshi]). lie was a remarkably 
useful man in liie community in various 
ways, was actively connected with civil af- 
fairs, was justice of the peace for many 
years and did a great amount of writing in 



the way of making deeds and drawing up 
other legal documents. He was an honor- 
able and esteemed citizen, and his long life 
was rich in service to his God and to his 
fellow- men. His surviving children in 1899 
are Rev. Benjamin Morgan, of Ben Davis, 
Marion county, Indiana, a retired Meth- 
odist minister; Mrs. Sarah Smith, who is 
also living at that place; and David L. 

The last named was born at Anderson- 
ville, Franklin county, Indiana, June 24, 
1848, and \vas but little more than a year 
old w-hen the family removed to the place 
where he now resides. Here he has made 
his home through the long period of fifty 
years, and the place is endeared to him 
through the associations of his boyhood as 
well as those of mature years. Mr. Morgan 
has been twice married. His first wife bore 
the maiden name of Nancy .-\. Evans and 
was born in Franklin county, as were her 
parents. Her grandparents, however, were 
natives of Virginia and became pioneer set- 
tlers of Franklin county. Mrs. Morgan 
died October 16, 1887, and Mr. Morgan 
has since wedded Minerva L. .Mullin, a 
daughter of Daniel Mullin. She was a na- 
tive of Marion county, Indiana, while her 
father was born in Ohio, and her mother, 
who bore the maiden name of Lydia Crone, 
was born in Virginia. By his first marriage 
Mr. Morgan has three sons: John A., David 
and Cassius. A daughter, Ada. died Sep- 
tember 27, 1893, at the age of nineteen 
years, and another daughter, Grace, passed 
away June 22. 1889, at the age of thirteen 
years. Three children have been born of 
the second marriage: Frank L., born .April 
23, 1890; Belva May, born June 25, 1891; 
and Cora Myrtle, born October i, 1895. 

Mr. Morgan is both widely and favor- 



296 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ably known in the community in which he 
has so long made his home, and is account- 
ed a \-alued citizen. He owns and occupies 
the old homestead, and the neat and thrifty 
appearance of the place well indicates his 
careful supervision. Diligence and deter- 
mination are amoiig his most marked char- 
acteristics and have contributed in a large 
degree to his success. Since 1886 he has 
devoted much time and attention to the 
prosecution of pension claims, and has been 
remarkably successful in that line of work. 
In his political aiifiliations he is a Repub- 
lican, but has never been an aspirant for 
public office, preferring to devote his en- 
ergies to his business interests, in which he 
has met with creditable success. 



REV. JAMES B. LATHROP. 

The descendant of a long line of preach- 
ers of the gospel, this venerable man has 
followed in their footsteps and has devoted 
much of his life to the welfare and spirit- 
ual advancement of his fellow men. Of late 
years, however, in consequence of throat 
trouble, he has been obliged to give up his 
ministerial work and has been engaged in 
other business, in Greensburg. where he 
was born November 24. 1825. 

The Lathrop family is of English ances- 
try, and traces its descent in this country 
from the Rev. John Lathrop, D. D., who 
came to America thirteen years after the 
landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. 
He was an independent preacher, and just 
before the sailing of the Pilgrims from the 
old country he and his congregation were 
thrown into jail, and so prevented from 
joining the expedition. The great-grand- 



father of our subject, the Rev. Elkanah 
Lathrop. was born and reared at Norwich, 
Connecticut, and for many years lived on a 
farm in \'ermont, and was also a minister. 
He afterward removed to Canada, where he 
owned a large farm, which, during the 
trouble between England and the United 
States, was confiscated by the British gov- 
ernment. He then returned to Vermont, 
there spending the remainder of his life. 

The Rev. Erastus Lathrop, grandfather 
of James B.. was a minister of the Baptist 
denomination. He came from \'ermont to 
Indiana in 181 7, and settled in Dearborn 
county, remaining there until 1821, when 
he sold his farm and entered land in De- 
catur county, a part of which is now em- 
braced in the city of Greensburg. Return- 
ing home to remove his family to his new 
purchase, he was prostrated by an attack 
of typhoid fever and died, at the age of 
forty-five years. He was a prominent man 
in his church, and well known as an earnest 
worker in his Master's vineyard. He mar- 
ried Delia Ingalls, and they had a family 
of three daughters and five sons. 

The father of our subject, Ezra Lathrop, 
was born in Canada, in 1803, and was seven 
years old when his family returned to 
Eranklin county, \'ermont. In 181 7 he 
came with his parents to Dearborn county. 
Indiana, and in 1822 settled in Greensburg, 
on the land entered by his father. On this 
place he spent the remainder of his life. For 
some years he followed the trade of a con- 
tractor. Subsequently he engaged in the 
mercantile business, and on retiring from 
the latter became a money-broker. He 
served as magistrate for over twenty years, 
and was prominent in his community. Mr. 
Lathrop was an active member of the Bap- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



297 



tist church, in wliich lie held the office of 
deacon for forty years, and up to the time 
of his death was a teacher in the Sunday- 
school. In politics he was originally an old- 
line Whig, becommg a Republican on the 
formation of that party. He was deeply 
in sympathy with the [principles which form 
the foundation of that organization, and 
gave his hearty co-operation to all meas- 
ures proposed by its leaders. 

Ezra Lathrop was married, in 1824, to 
.\bi, daughter of Nathaniel Potter. The 
father was a native of North Carolina, and 
was of a patriotic family, four of his broth- 
ers being soldiers in the Re\(>lutinnary war. 
Me came from Kentucky to Indiana in 
iS_'i, and located near (Ireensburg. where 
he followed farming, ami there died at an 
advanced age. Eight children were born 
to Ezra Lathrop and his wife, but of these 
si.x died in infancy. Tiie two sons, Ja'nes 
B. and Levi, grew to manhood. Levi died 
in 1874. He was a merchant and banker, 
and a successful i)usiness man. The father 
accumulated a large property, and at his 
death, in 1885, was worth one luuidred 
thousand dollars. 

James B. Lathrop. the subject of this 
sketch, was educated in the schools of his 
native place and at the State University, at 
Bloomington, Indiana, at the latter insti- 
tution taking the scientific course, and he 
also graduated in the law department, in 
1847. J" March of.that year he was licensed 
as a preacher of the Methodist church, and 
traveled on the Martinville circuit. He 
was admitted to the Indiana conference in 
the latter part of 1847, and from that time 
until 1861 filled eleven pulpits, namely: 
(ireenville, Vincennes, Point Commerce. 
Franklin. Connersville. Vevav, Madison, 



Brookville, Columbus. Rushville and Au- 
rora. In 1861 he removed to Greensburg, 
and that year organized a church at Adams, 
where he preached for two years. In the 
fall of 1864 he returned to Connersville. 
remaining there one year, when he was ap- 
pointed presiding elder of the Indianapolis 
district. This office he filled until 1867, 
when he was changed to the Lawrenceburg 
district, where he has served for six years. 
In 1873 Mr. Lathrop was appointed to the 
charge of Grace church. Indianapolis, resid- 
ing in that city until 1874, when he was 
called back to Greensburg on account of the 
death of his brother, and his appointment 
as guardian of his brother Levi's estate. 
1 hiring the following five years he filled the 
pulpits of two churches near Greensburg 
and also that of Milroy, Rush county, for 
three years. In 1877 he retired from the 
ministry and settled in Greensburg, and for 
the following five years was associated with 
the Greensburg \\^oolen Mill Company, as 
business manager. Since that time he has 
been engaged in farming and banking. Mr. 
Lathrop has been vice-president of the Cit- 
izens' National Bank for six years, and a 
director in the same institution for a much 
longer time. He owns seven hundred and 
seventy-two acres of land in Decatur and 
Rush counties, and carries on farming quite 
extensively. He also owns some valuable 
real estate in the city of Greensburg. 

Socially our subject is a member of 
Greensburg Lodge, No. 36, F. & A. M., 
Shelbyville Commandery, K. T.. and of the 
chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Conner.s 
ville. 

Mr. Lathrop was married November 30. 
1848. lo Miss Mary Butler, of Blooming- 
ton, Indiana, who died December 2, 1897. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Of their six cliildren, four are living: Ella, 
wife of Judge F. E. Gavin, of Indianapolis; 
Lizzie Butler, who resides with her father; 
Maggie, wife of John S. Shannon, a law- 
yer and the present mayor of Alexandria. 
Indiana; and Harry, who resides in Greens- 
burg, and who married Drusilla, daughter 
of John Browning, of Indianapolis. 



PASCHAL T. LAMBERT. 

Paschal T. Lambert, who stands alone in 
his special line of business in Greensburg 
and Decatur county, has continuously re- 
sided in this place ever since the centennial 
year, but was well known in this locality 
many years prior to the date of his becom- 
ing a permanent citizen here. 

On both sides of his family Mr. Lambert 
is of English extraction. His grandfather. 
Daniel Lamljert, a native of New Jersey, 
settled in Kentucky at an early day, becom- 
ing one of the pioneers of that now flour- 
ishing state. He carried on a large farm 
and continued to dwell there until his death. 
To himself and wife, formerly "a Miss 
Bourne, two daughters and a son were 
born. The latter, John Lambert, father of 
our subject, was born in Scott county, Ken- 
tucky, whence he removed to Marion coun- 
ty, Indiana, in 1830. He died at his home- 
stead in that county some twelve years 
later, when but thirty-seven years of age. 
Plis wife, whose maiden name had been 
Lucinda Turpin, departed this life the same 
year, 1842, aged thirty-five years, and two 
sons and two daughters were left to mourn 
their loss. 

Paschal T. Lambert, the eldest of his par- 
ents' children, was born in Marion countv. 



just west of the state capital, May 24, 183 1. 
Orphaned at less than twelve years of age, 
the boy went to live with his mother's 
brother, Robinson Turpin, in the neighbor- 
hood of his birthplace, but at the end of 
three years he entered the home of William 
Myres, a farmer of this county, remaining 
with him for some seven years. In the mean- 
time he attended the district schools, more 
or less, each year, and in 1853 obtained a 
position as a clerk in a dry-goods store, for 
John P. Hittle, of Greensburg. At the end 
of about nine months he went to Iowa, 
where he was engaged in the varied occu- 
pations of dry-goods merchant, grocer, and 
dealer in live stock. He also was book- 
keeper in a bank for some time, and filled a 
few offices in Monroe county. He served 
as a justice of the peace and as county com- 
missioner, overseeing some notable im- 
provements and at all times standing as a 
champion of progress. At length, after 
twenty-two years passed in active enter- 
prises in the great western state, he re- 
turned to Indiana, and for three or four 
years made his home upon a farm situated 
two miles west of Greensburg. Later he 
moved into the town, and devoted his earn- 
est attention to the making of a complete 
set of al)stracts of titles to real estate. 
His long, arduous labors resulted in his 
being the present possessor of the only 
complete set of abstract books in this coun- 
ty, this having cost him over three thou- 
sand dollars, to say nothing of the great 
strain there was upon his physical endur- 
ance. Because of his superior knowledge 
and facilities for obtaining the necessary 
facts in regard to the transfer of real estate, 
as well as for many other reasons, not the 
least of which are his sterling integrity and 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



299 



justice, he transacts a very extensive l)usi- 
ness in real estate. 

X(i\v, lia\in,ij arri\e(i at an age when the 
siiaijows of Hfe beg-in to lengtlien. Mr. Lam- 
bert is in possession of a competence, which 
he has earned in the strictly legitimate 
channels of business, and, looking back- 
ward, he has no just reason to feel that a 
high degree of success has not attended the 
major portion of his enterprises. As long 
ago as 1855 he became a member of the 
Masonic order, and has passed all the chairs 
in both the lodge and chapter. His mar- 
riage to Eliza H. Saunders, of Iowa, was 
celebrated in 1857, and three daughters 
were born to the worthy couple, namely: 
Susan. Lazcna. and Clara. Lazena became 
the wife of Edward M. White, now the 
prosecuting attorney at Muncie, Indiana; 
Clara is the wife of O. G. Miller, a success- 
ful attorney and real-estate dealer of Greens- 
burg; and Susan is now associated with her 
father in the abstract and real-estate busi- 
ness. 



H.\KRY O. M.\TTITE\VS. 

Few men arc more widely known in 
Decatur county than Harry O. Matthews, 
who is one of the young representatives of 
the journalistic profession, but his years 
are no measure as to his ability, for he has 
attained a jjosition that might well be en- 
vied by those whose connection with the 
"art preservative of all arts" greatly ante- 
dated his. He is now editor and proprietor 
of the Greensburg Daily and W'ceklv Xews, 
and in the conduct of these papers is meet- 
ing with excellent success. 

Mr. Matthews is a native of Green.sburg, 
his birth having occurred on the 21st of' 



October, 1875. His parents are James H. 
and Phoebe W. (Garver) Matthews. The 
paternal grandfather, James Dinilo]) Mat- 
thews, was of Irish descent, and was born 
May 10, 1823, near Greenfield, Ross coun- 
ty, Ohio, his parents being John and Han- 
nah Matthews. He remained under the 
])arental roof until he had attained his ma- 
jority, and then removed to Indiana. He 
was married NoN'embcr 14, 1844, to Mary 
.\nu Wilson, daughter of John II. Wilson, 
of South Salem, Ohio. They became the 
parents of four children, including James 
H.. the father of our subject. .As a means 
of livelihood, the grandfather engaged in 
farming and stock-raising, making a spe- 
cialty of the breeding of Clydesdale horses. 
He carrieil on business on an extensive 
scale, and in connection with agricultural 
pursuits he engaged in merchandising 
-About 1844 he united with the Associate 
Reformed Presbyterian church, in Hebron, 
Indiana, and in December, 1865, was elect- 
ed one of its ruling elders, continuing his 
connection with the denomination until his 
death, which occurred in Greenfield, Ohio, 
March 18, 1895, in the seventy-second year 
of his age. 

James H. Matthews, the father of our 
subject, was born in western Indiana, March 
5, 1847, and died in Indianapolis, April 23, 
1898. When seventeen years of age he be- 
gan the study of photography in Green- 
field. Ohio, and followed that art in the 
Buckeye state until twenty-three years of 
age, when he came to Green.sl)urg, Indiana. 
He carried on the i)hotographing business 
in this and various other locations in dif- 
ferent states, for twenty-eight years, and 
then removed to Indianapolis, where he 
spent his last davs. He was one of the lead- 



300 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ing photographers of the state, his artistic 
talent and skiU in his profession winning 
him prestige. On the 14th of October, 1874. 
occurred the marriage of James H. Mat- 
thews and Phoebe W. Garver, who resided 
in Gre&nsburg, Indiana, and to them was 
born a son, Harry O. 

The weh known editor of the Greensburg 
Daily and Weekly News spent the first four 
years of his life in the city of his nativity 
and then accompanied his parents to other 
parts of this and otlier states. The educa- 
tional privileges which he enjoyed were 
those afforded by the common schools, but 
at the early age of ten years he entered a 
printing office in Seymour, Indiana, to learn 
the printing trade, to w-hich he has since 
devoted his energies. He removed to Illi- 
nois, and was employed for two years in a 
l)rinting ofifice in Wilmington, returning to 
Green.sburg on the 7th of March. 1888. 
where he has mastered the business in every 
detail. After acting as compositor on va- 
rious papers of the city he began business 
on his own account, in Milroy, Rush coun- 
ty, founding the Milroy Press, in Novem- 
ber, 1895. He published that journal for a 
year, as an independent paper, and in No- 
vember, 1896, he returned to Greensburg. 
The following April he purchased a half in- 
terest in the Greensburg Daily News, and 
on the 1st of August, 1898, he became sole 
proprietor. This paper was established in 
1894, by Frank Trimble and Ed Line, but 
on the 1st of May of that year the latter 
retired, Mr. Trimble continuing the enter- 
prise until it was purchased by ]\Ir. Mat- 
thews, who is now sole owner. The paper 
is independent in politics and is devoted to 
the business interests of Greensburg and 
Decatur county. It is a seven-column, four- 



page journal, neat in appearance, fully 
meriting the liberal patronage which it re- 
ceives. Its large circulation makes it an 
excellent advertising medium, and it re- 
ceives a liberal support in this direction. 
On the 28th of April, 1899, Mr. Matthews 
also began to publish the Greensburg 
\Veekly News, a five-column sheet of eight 
pages, issued every Friday. 

On the 9th of January, 1895, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Matthews and 
Miss Cora E. Patterson, of Greensburg, 
but after a short married life of three and 
one-half years the wife was called to her final 
rest. May 10, 1898. Socially Mr. Matthews 
is a Mason, having become a member of 
Greensburg Lodge, No. 36, F. and A. M., 
August 12, 1897. On the i6th of June of 
the following year he became a member 
of Greensburg Lodge, No. 148, K. P. He 
is a young man of marked energy, enter- 
prise and executive ability, and his close 
application to his business interests has 
brought him a success w'hich he well de- 
serves. He exemplifies the western spirit 
of progress and is known as a public-spirited 
citizen who not only gives his influence 
through his papers to all movements calcu- 
lated to prove a public benefit, but also 
lends them his substantial support. 



BENJAMIN F. GASTON. 

This leading and representative farmer 
of Jackson township. Decatur county, was 
born in Butler county, Ohio, October 15, 
1849. His parents, Francis M. and Mar- 
garet (Gray) Gaston, were also born in 
Butler county, Ohio, where they were mar- 
ried. His father was a son of Joseph and 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



301 



Ann (Minor) Gaston, who were both of 
Pennsylvania Dntcli descent. Tlic)' came 
to Ohio at a very early date, and were well 
and favorably known in this locality. Jo- 
seph Gaston was a farmer by occnpation, 
and was also a local preacher in the Mission- 
ary Baptist church. He was a Democrat, 
but very strimo- in his anti-slavery views, 
and affiliated with the iiirney abolitionists. 
There were seven children in their family. 
Besides Benjamin F.. there were Margaret, 
Francis M., father of our subject; .'\biah 
^^^, living in Iowa; John, who went to Cal- 
ifomia, and from there to the Sandwich 
Islands, where he was a missionary, and 
since then nothing has been heard from 
him; Joseph K., who enlisted in the Eighty- 
third Ohio Volunteers during the civil war 
and gave his life a sacrifice to his patriot- 
ism; and Samuel, who is a contractor and 
lives at Albia. Towa. 

Francis M. came with his family to Deca- 
tur county in 185 1. He purchased land, on 
which there were some improvements, and 
also bought a store at Sardinia, which he 
conducted for one year. At the end of that 
time he decided to give his undivided atten- 
tion to farming, which i)roved to be a w'ise 
resolve. He engaged in general farming 
and stock-raising, and was very successful 
in all his enterprises. He was a consistent 
member of the Baptist church and a leading 
man in iiis community, where he com- 
manded undivided esteem. He died May 
26, 1894, at the rii)e age of eighty-one years. 
His wife, who survives him. makes her home 
with her children in Sardinia, where she is 
surrounded with tender love and care in her 
old age. Mrs. Gaston's father died when 
she was a child, and she was reared by an 
uncle. Jacob Schuff, a prominent citizen and 



county commissioner of Hamilton county. 
( )hi(). The others of the family remained 
with the mother in Ohio. Benjamin Gray 
and Mrs. Gaston are the only ones now liv- 
ing. Mr. and Jilrs. Gray had each been 
previously married, and had children by 
each marriage. James T. Gray was a lead- 
ing politician of Butler county, Ohio, and 
was elected the treasurer of the county, but 
died before qualifying for the office. .Abra- 
ham and John McMeans were large farmers 
in Elkhart county, Indiana, and both are 
deceased. To Francis M. Gaston and wife 
si.\ children were born; Benjamin F., the 
subject of this sketch: Jessie M.. who live-; 
on the old homestead; James S.. a farmer 
in Jackson township: Julia .\.. Mrs. John 
R. Shaw, living in Chicago. Illinois; Eliza 
J., Mrs. L. E. Newsome, a resident of In- 
dianapolis: and William G., a prominent 
merchant in Sardinia. 

Benjamin F. Gaston obtained a good 
education in the common schools, and sub- 
sequently took a course in the Commercial 
College at Lebanon, Ohio, after which he 
taught school for five years. Until he was 
twenty-six years old Mr. Gaston remained 
with his parents. In 1875 he married Miss 
Ruth Smith and settled on a farm of his 
father's, which he rented and which five 
years later he purchased. He remained on 
this place a number of years, then sold it 
and bought the property where he now re- 
sifles. Mr. Gaston has been very success- 
ful in his busine.ss enterprises, and is now 
the owner of three well improved farms. 
He has devoted his entire time to agricul- 
tural ])ursuits, and although he studied law 
and is a competent attorney he has never 
practiced his profession to any greater ex- 
tent than in the way of giving advice to his 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



neighbors. However, he has settled a good 
many estates, and has been guardian for a 
number of children. At the present time 
he is acting as assignee of the large business 
of James S. Harper, of Sardinia. In all his 
business relations his integrity has never 
been doubted, and he has shown himself to 
be a man of much executive ability. 

In politics Mr. Gaston is a strong and 
influential worker in the Republican party, 
although his township is largely Demo- 
cratic. He is a constant attendant at the 
state and county conventions, and works 
earnestly in advocating the principles of the 
party which he believes to be that of "law 
and order.*' He was elected county com- 
missioner in 1890, and served out his term 
with honor and credit to himself and to the 
satisfaction of his constituents. He is at 
present a member of the Decatur county 
council. He is also a director of the 
Farmers' Insurance Company. Socially he 
belongs to the Odd Fellows. 

On April 21, 1875, Mr. Gaston was 
united in marriage with Miss Ruth Smith, 
who was born in Wayne county. New York, 
April 7, 1854. and was a daughter of 
Thomas and Hannah Smith. Her parents 
were English by birth, and soon after their 
marriage emigrated to the United States 
and settled in New York, where they re- 
mained but a short time, and then came to 
Jennings county, Indiana. Her father was 
a miller by trade, and for a number of years 
operated the mill at Sardinia. He died 
June 30, 1875; his wife is still living and 
resides in Sardinia. In the Smith family 
there were seven children, namely: Ruth 
(Mrs. Gaston), William F., James, Charles, 
Louisa (Mrs. Falkner), Mary and Freder- 
ick. Mrs. Gaston died June 4, 1899, leav- 



ing three children, — Carl and Annie, who 
li\'e with their father; ind Margaret, Mrs. 
E. L. Irving, residing in Indianapolis. She 
was a woman of culture and refinement, and 
a consistent member of the Baptist church, 
to which organization all the family belong, 
and in which Mr. Gaston is a deacon at 
Westport, Indiana. 



HON. MARSHALL E. NEWHOUSE. 

One of the most popular and promineirt 
citizens of Fugit township, Decatur county, 
is the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch. In all measures having for their 
object the benefit of the people, he takes an 
active part, and consequ«ntly he is looked 
up to and considered an authority upon 
public matters in his own community. The 
secret of his popularity is to be found in 
the high and creditable record he has made, 
— a career which is noble and of which his 
children and posterity will have reason to 
be proud. 

The Newhouse family is one of the hon- 
ored pioneer families of the adjoining Rush 
county, and comes from stanch old Virginia 
stock. The paternal grandfather of our 
subject, Samuel Newhouse, emigrated from 
the Old Dominion to these Indiana wilds at 
a very early day, and proceeded to clear a 
farm in the midst of the forest. There, on 
the old homestead, the father of our sub- 
ject was born, in 1824, and for three-quar- 
ters of a century has dwelt, peacefully tilling 
the soil. Though now so advanced in age, 
he enjoys good health and attends to the 
same duties which have occupied his atten- 
tion during his mature life. 

The birth of Marshall E. Newhouse oc- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



305 



ciirred on the old Rush county farm, in 
X()\enil)er. 1852, and there he mastered the 
various ilepartnients of agriculture. He 
was a studious youth, and supplemented his 
common-school education by a course at 
Hanover College, subsequent to leaving 
which institution he engaged in teaching 
for a number of years, with marked success. 

In 1878 Mr. Newhouse was united in 
marriage with Miss Ella Throp, a daughter 
of James B. Throp, and granddaughter of 
Thomas Throp, one of the early settlers of 
Fugit township. The latter, who settled 
here permanently in 1821, was born in New 
Jersey, October 17, 1776, and died in this 
locality, March 24, 1853. His wife, Ellen, 
l>om November 30, 1784, died August 12, 
'^39- James B. Throp was born in Mon- 
mouth county, New Jersey, December 28, 
1815, and from the time that he was six 
years old he dwelt in this township on the 
land originally entered by his father. He 
was an industrious, highly respected citizen, 
and was deeply mourned when he was called 
to his reward, April 6. 1884. His widow, 
whose maiden name was Mary Kerrick, is 
yet living at the home which has sheltered 
her for so many decades. Her father, 
Thomas Kerrick, was a native of Loudoun 
county, Virginia, and he is numbered 
among the pioneers of this county. 

The present home of Marshall E. New- 
house is on section 24, Fugit township, this 
projierty being a portion of the old home- 
stead of James B. Throp. He has resided 
here ever since his marriage, and has made 
many desirable improvements, thus enhanc- 
ing the value of the homestead. He is a 
practical business man, and has the inter- 
ests of the agricultural class in particular 
sincerely at heart. 



In his ])()litical faith Mr. Newhouse is a 
stanch Republican, his lirst presidential 
ballot having been cast for Hayes. In 
1893 he was the people's choice for repre- 
sentative of this district to the state legisla- 
ture, and again in 1895 he was elected as a 
representative. Once a member of the 
legislative body, Mr. Newhouse took a 
prominent place on many of the enactments 
and important bills, and during his first 
term he was the author of the Southern 
Prison bill, which really was the ground- 
work of the reform bill that was finally 
passed. During his last term in the legis- 
lature he was chairman of the committee on 
apportionment, which redistricted the state, 
and he also warmly championed the mort- 
gage exemption bill and other measures 
which he believed to be for the welfare of 
the people. 

Fraternally, Mr. Newhouse is affiliated 
with the Knights of Pythias. He resides in 
a very pleasant home, which is brightened 
by the presence of his estimable wife and 
their five children, who are named Mary, 
Winnie M., Lewis J., Ruby and Helen. 
The family are active members of the 
Christian church and lo\al in the support of 
education and all other worthy enterprises. 



H. C. MILLER. 



.\nythiiig like an ade(|uate presentation 
of the history of this worthy citizen and of 
his antecedents must possess many elements 
of interest. It comprehends the pioneer 
days of our country and is an indication of 
the advancement of civilization from the 
days of the block-house to the present time; 
antl it deals with the experiences of brave 



30G 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



men and women in the new country, sur- 
rounded Ijy lieasts of prey, intimidated by 
red Indians and hampered and incon\-en- 
ienced by the conditions of primitive life. 
H. C. Miller had a part in reclaiming the 
Indiana forests and has a claim now on the 
honor due to a good and upright citizen. 

H. C. Miller, of Westport, Decatur coun- 
ty, Indiana, has been long identified with 
the development of his township and with 
the advancement of the farming interests of 
his county. He is a native of Clermont 
county, Ohio, and was born April 17, 1820, 
a son of John H. and Abigal (Witham) Mill- 
er. His father was a native of Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, and his mother was 
born in Massachusetts. His grandfather, 
James Witham, came out from Massachu- 
setts and about 1775 located at Cincinnati, 
then a mere village of five log cabins, where 
he bought of Judge Sims a tract of land 
extending along Deer creek to the Ohio 
river and including valuable land now 
nearly in the business center of the city. 
The place was then a mere settlement of log 
cabins, with a blockhouse in which the pio- 
neers would seek safety whenever an Indian 
alarm was sounded. The Withams, with 
four other families, floated down the Ohio 
river on flat boats and were frequently fired 
at by Indians from the shores; and it may 
be imagined that the journey was no less 
dangerous than tiresome. After improv- 
ing some of his land and farming on it for a 
comparatively short time, IMr. Witham sold 
it and went to Warren county. The chil- 
dren of James Witham were Robert, John, 
Morris. Gideon, Mehetable, Rachel and 
.\bigal (who became Mrs. John Miller and 
was the mother of H. C. Miller). 

John H. Miller and Abigal Witham were 



married in Hamilton county, Ohio, and 
they lived on a rented farm until 1830, when 
Mr. Miller settled on public lands in Deca- 
tur county, Indiana. When he moved here 
the country was an unbroken wilderness. 
There were no roads and but few settlers. 
The Millers found their way to their new. 
home by blaze marks on trees, cut there by 
some one who had gone over the ground 
before them. ]Mr. Miller erected a log 
cabin and made a ten-acre clearing, and 
then exchanged his improvements for forty 
acres of wild land. Then he went further 
into the wilderness, built another cabin, 
cleared and w'orked more land and died 
after having seen the work of improvement 
well advanced all about him. His expe- 
riences in this land of promise were the fa- 
miliar but arduous ones of all pioneers in 
this part of the country. The woods were 
full of game of the land and of game of the 
air, and it was to be had for the shooting. 
For some time there were no milling facili- 
ties beyond small hand-mills in which corn 
was ground to meal. The hardships and 
deprivations were many, but they were not 
discouraging, and opportunity to worship 
God was provided for by the formation of 
Methodist classes. After that the devoted 
settlers did not feel so lonely and so help- 
less, and they made strides more and more 
rapidly toward improvement, enlighten- 
ment and complete civilization. The men 
in the woods of Indiana had their politics. 
The politics of John H. Miller was of the 
Jacksonian Democratic stripe; and though 
the "stripe" was so deep and so wide that 
there could be no mistake about it he was 
content to study up political questions and 
to discuss them with his neighbors, and 
never sought or accepted ofifices that might 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



have been his for only tlie taking. He died 
in i<S43, liis wife in 1S45. Their cliildren 
were named Lavina (Mis. (i. X'andergriff), 
Rachel (Mrs. WilHani Wvn). Diadama 
(Mrs. John K. Porter), H. C, Levi (who 
died at the age of thirty-three and left seven 
children), Isaac (who died aged thirty-fonr 
leaving fonr children), James, and John 
(who died in Paulding county, Ohio, leav- 
ing a family). James, the first born, went 
to Louisiana, where he became a wealthy 
sugar planter and a large slave-owner. 

H. C. Miller was "bound out." and the 
wages the father received for his services 
w ere of value in the economics of the family. 
When he was not thus employed he was 
helping his father clear, improve and culti- 
vate the farm until he was twenty-one years 
old. He then went to Louisiana and was 
an overseer for his brother James. Thus 
he was employed for six years, working and 
saving, and when he came back to Indiana 
he was able to buy an eigiity-acre farm with 
an eight-acre clearing and a log cabin on it. 
He has added to this purchase from time to 
time until he now owns more than four hun- 
dred acres. His place is one of the most 
attractive homesteads in the county. He 
molded and burned a kiln of brick, and in 
1S58 finished the magnificent house which 
has since been his home. With his own 
hands he built a stone fence in front of the 
house and extending along his land near by. 
half a mile. His place is beautified with a 
magnificent grove of forest trees set by his 
own hands, and at a point distant from the 
house is another stretch of stone fence 
bounding the place for thirty rods. From 
the first he was enterprising beyond many 
of his neighbors. He was early a driver of 
stock to the markets of Cincinnati and ' 



Madison. Indiana, and he hauled much 
wheat to market to Madison and to Law- 
renceburg. I"or some time he worked on 
the construction of the Indianapolis & 
.\Lidi.son Railroad, the first built in this part 
of the country. 

It is a matter of course that such a man 
as Mr. Miller should have become as popu- 
lar as useful. He is a Democrat in a coun- 
ty in which there is usually a Republican 
majority; otherwise he might have almost 
continually filled the highest offices in the 
gift of his fellow citizens. He received the 
nomination for representative in the Indiana 
legislature and lacked only sixty votes of 
election though the Republican majority 
was five hundred. He made a good stand 
also for the office of county commissioner 
and ran far ahead of his ticket. He has 
served as drainage commissioner and for 
many years advised his fellow townsmen and 
adjusted their differences as justice of the 
peace. 

Mr. Miller married Miss Kiizabeth .Ab- 
bott, a lady of rare culture and many vir- 
tues, who was born in Hamilton county. 
Ohio, December 16, 1822. a daughter of 
George W. and Elizabeth (Young) Abbott. 
Her parents were both born in New Jersey. 
They were married in Hamilton county. 
Ohio, where Mr. Abbott, who was a teacher 
and farmer, lived until he was about sixty 
years old. .\t that time they came to Deca- 
tur county, Indiana, where Mr. Abbott 
bought and improved land. Selling out 
after a residence here of twenty years, he 
removed to Kentucky, w here he died at the 
ripe age of eighty-six. His wife survived 
him three years and died at the age of 
eighty. This worthy couple were Method- 
ists and for years their house was a regular 



308 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



preaching place and the meeting place of 
classes of which Mr. Abbott was leader, and 
their charities were constant and practical. 
Besides Mrs. Miller, their children were 
Samuel and Lucinda. both of whom are 
dead. Children have been born to H. C. 
and Elizabeth (Abbott) Miller as follows: 
Mary E., who married Isaac H. Taylor and 
died in 1864, leaving no children; Julia C, 
who married W . F. Robbins and has borne 
him two sons and three daughters; and two 
sons who died in infancy were also born in 
the family of H. C. Miller. Besides bring- 
ing up these daughters and settling them in 
life, Mr. Miller has reared and educated 
seven orphan children, five of whom are 
established in life. One of the two who 
remain is a highly educated and successful 
teacher, the other is a member of Mr. Mill- 
er's household. Since their youth Mr. and 
Mrs. Miller have been devout and consistent 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and Mr. Miller has served many years as 
trustee and steward. 



RE\'. JOHN W. PARKER. 

The able and popular ])astor of the Pres- 
byterian church at Greensburg was born at 
Edinburg, Indiana, September 29, 1867. 
He is the son of George D. and Elizabeth 
(Matthews) Parker. The family came orig- 
inally from Ireland and settled in Ohio. 

Th» father of our subject was born in 
Brown county, Ohio, but has resided in In- 
diana for the past forty years. He was edu- 
cated in Marietta College, Ohio, being 
graduated at that institution. He subse- 
quently taught for a number of years in 
Madison, Kingston and Clarksburg, the last 



two towns mentioned being in Decatur 
county. In 1866 Mr. Parker entered the 
ministry and became a member of the synod 
of the Presbyterian church of Indiana. He 
preached for six years in Decatur county, 
and resided for two years at Greensburg. 
Since 1895 he has had charge of the church 
at Converse in this state. 

He was married to Elizabeth Matthews, 
and they have reared a family of four chil- 
dren, two sons and two daughters. John 
W. Parker was fitted for college under pri- 
vate instruction, and when twenty-one years 
of age entered Princeton, taking a classical 
course and graduating in the class of 1892, 
with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He 
then took the theological course in the 
same institution, at which he was graduated 
in 1895. During two of his summer vaca- 
tions he was employed in missionary work 
in New York and Chicago, and in October, 
1895, became pastor of the church with 
which he is now connected. 

Under the ministrations of Mr. Parker 
the church at Greensburg has largely in- 
creased in members and influence. The 
building has been improved and refitted, 
and a new pipe organ has been put in, while 
one hundred and fifty additional members 
have been received. Mr. Parker is a young 
man of fine education and natural ability, a 
good speaker, and has won the love and 
respect not only of his congregation but of 
the entire communitv. 



HENRY H. TALBOTT. 

It has fallen to the lot of very few men in 
the United States to serve the public as 
long or to have made such a highly credita- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ble record as did Henry H. Talbott, de- 
ceased, formerly of Greensburg. Indeed, 
he is justly accredited as one of the prime 
factors in the foiniding of Decatur county, 
and to his wisdom and counsel was due 
much of its early prosperity. 

He was of English ancestry, his father, 
ivichard C. Talbott, Jr., and his grand- 
lather, Richard C. Talbott. both having 
been born in England. The family, includ- 
ing the three or four children of the grand- 
father, emigrated to the United States prior 
to the Revolutionary war and located near 
Baltimore, Maryland. Richard C. Talbott. 
Jr., later proceeded westward, and for some 
years dwelt at Stanford, Kentucky, but 
spent his last years in Ripley county, Indi- 
ana, where he bought a farm and cultivated 
it until his death. He was the father of 
four sons and one daughter, to whom he 
gave as goo<l advantages as was possible at 
that early day in the wilds of the Hoosier 
state. 

Henry H. Talbott, whose birth had oc- 
curred March 25, 1800, in Stanford. Ken- 
tucky, was a small lad when the family set- 
tled in Ripley county, and soon afterward 
he went to live with an uncle at Madison, 
the county-seat of JefTerson county, In- 
diana. That relative was then serving in 
the capacity of clerk of the courts of that 
county, and the nephew held the office of 
deputy for several years, thus becoming 
thoroughly familiar with the duties of a 
county clerk. This knowledge, as will be 
seen, was of great benefit to him thereafter. 
He came to Decatur county when it was 
naught but a dense forest, and the town of 
Greensburg unknown. In company with a 
few other pioneers, at Kingston, he took 
measures for the purpose of organizing this 



county; and as he was the only one pres- 
ent who was competent to draw up the pa- 
pers in legal form setting forth the matter, 
he was chosen to perform that important 
duty. To him also fell the honor of being 
elected to serve as the first county clerk of 
the new county, and according to the old 
records he entered upon his duties as such 
as early as January 18, 1822, when he was 
less than twenty-two years of age. He so 
thoroughly won the esteem and admiration 
of his acquaintances that it was really im- 
possible for any one to defeat him when it 
came election time, and for twenty-nine 
years he held the offices of both clerk and 
recorder. At the end of this period he was 
barred by a general state law from holding 
both offices and was continued as clerk 
eight additional years. 

Throughout his luature life he was a 
patriot in the truest sense, and, when the 
civil war broke out and the call for men to 
serve for three months was made, though 
he was sixty-one years of age. he offered 
himself to his country, and while he was 
not permitted to enlist in the ranks he was 
given a position as sutler. When his regi- 
ment participated in the battle of Philippi. 
he equipped himself with a gun and ammu- 
nition and went into the fray with his com- 
rades. Politically he was originally a \\'\\\g 
and later a Republican. For many years 
he was successfully engaged in the live- 
stock business, driving cattle to the markets 
of Madison and Lawrenceburg, and also to 
Cincinnati, this being prior to the con- 
struction of railroads in this locality. In 
later life he was one of the most earnest 
members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and died in the Christian faith when 
in the seventy-third year of his age. July 21, 



310 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



1872, his death occurring at his old home in 
Greensburg. 

Mr. Talbott survived his beloved wife 
several years, as she was summoned to her 
reward in September, i860, when she had 
attained the age of sixty-one years, nine 
months and three days. In her maiden- 
hood she bore the name of Eliza Hendricks, 
her father being Thomas Hendricks, 
formerly of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, but 
for years a citizen of this place. To the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Talbott four sons 
and four daughters were born. Four are 
deceased, namely: Rachel. Sarah A.. Rich- 
ard C. and Thomas H. Drusilla G. is the 
eldest of the four who survive, and the 
youngest is Mrs. Mary E. King, of Indian- 
apolis. Abram H. and Henry H. both re- 
side in Greensburg. 

Abram H. Talbott, who is next to the 
youngest son of our subject, was born in 
this city. May 26, 1837, and was educated in 
the public schools here. .\t intervals, until 
1856, he assisted his father in the county 
clerk's ofBce, and about i860 they entered 
into partnershij), under the firm name of 
Talbott & Son, and conducted a hardware 
store for seven years. The father then sell- 
ing his business, the young man obtained 
a position as a clerk, and continued to he 
thus employed until 1877, since which time 
he has been engaged in the drug business. 
Success has attended his efforts in the busi- 
ness world, and no one in Greensburg or 
vicinity enjoys more fully the confidence of 
the entire community. He owns a farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres, situated east 
of the city some three miles, and this place 
he supervises. 

Needless to say, Mr. Talbott is a stanch 
Republican, as was his father before him. 



He is quiet and unassuming in manner, and 
never has been ambitious to occupy public 
office. His chief interest ceiaters in his 
home and business, though he never fails to 
discharge every duty devolving upon him 
as a citizen. His marriage to Miss Clara 
L. Armington was celebrated on the 19th of 
May, 1880, that date being the forty-third 
anniversary of his birth. 



THOMAS A. SHIRK. 

An honored member of a well-known 
])ioneer family, Mr. Shirk, is a valued citizen 
of the vicinity of Waynesburg, Indiana, 
where he has resided for many years. He 
was born in Franklin county, Indiana, May 
18, 1837. His parents. Job S. and Mary 
(Matthews) Shirk, were both born in 
Franklin county. Indiana, where they were 
married. Jol) was the son of Andrew 
Shirk, who was of Swiss descent, and was a 
pioneer settler in Franklin county. An- 
ch'ew's father belonged to the sect of Men- 
nonites, and was opposed to war, but his 
son was very anxious to enlist in the colon- 
ial army and finally left home without his 
parent's knowledge, and served during the 
entire Revolutionary war. When it was 
over he settled in North Carolina, after- 
ward making his way to Indiana, and was 
one of the jiioneers of Franklin county. His 
son Andrew was a soldier in the war of 
1812, and the remainder of his life was spent 
in farming. His children are mentioned as 
follows: Andrew and Isaac, neitlier of whom 
ever married; Job, father of our subject; 
Martha, Mrs. C. Craven; Rhoda, Mrs. M. 
Rudd; Elizabeth, Mrs. M. Wallace; 
Rachel, Mrs. Jesse Shafer; and Rebecca, 
Mrs. J. Wynn. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



311 



Job S. Shirk grew to manhood and mar- 
ried in Franklin county, and lived on the 
homestead there until 1839, when he moved 
to Decatur county and bought the tract of 
land on which his son Thomas now lives. 
At that time there was only a log cabin on 
the place and a few acres had been partially 
cleared. There were very few settlers in 
Jackson township, and there were but tw^o 
families within visiting distance. Many 
hardships and privations were endured be- 
fore the wild land was converted into fields 
of ijrain. or blooming orchards; but men 
in those ilays were strong and brave of 
heart, and allow-ed no obstacles to prevent 
the accomplishment of the tasks to which 
they set themselves. By degrees the land 
was improved, more acres were added, and 
at the time of his death Mr. Shirk was able 
to leave a good home to each of his chil- 
dren. He was fond of recounting inci- 
dents of his pioneer life when there was a 
|)lenty of wild game to be had for the shoot- 
ing, when there were no roads, and only an 
Indian trail by which to find one's way 
through the boundless forests, and when the 
grain had to be carried on horseback for 
long distances to be ground before the good 
housewife could have flour and meal for the 
Ijread. The people of to-day are reaping 
the benefits of all this labor and endurance, 
and no honor is too great to pay to the 
memory of the men and women who settled 
this great western country. 

Mr. Shirk was a general farmer and also 
raised stock, which he drove to Cincinnati 
for market. He also did much for his com- 
munity in this way, buying stock for the 
other families and furnishing the money for 
this purpose when they could not raise it. 
He was an enterprising man, and very suc- 



cessful in his business affairs. In early life 
he was a Whig and later joined the Repub- 
lican party. He served as township trustee 
and as justice of the peace. He took a deep 
interest in the success of the civil war and 
supported the Union cause by all the means 
in his power, giving two of his sons to fight 
the battles of their country, both of whom 
lost their lives. While on a visit to his old 
home in Franklin county in 1844, Mr. Shirk 
united with the Big Cedar Baptist church, 
being baptized by the l\cv. Joab Stout. 
On his return home he became a member of 
the Dry Fork Baptist church, four miles 
from his farm, and during the existence of 
that church, as well as when afterward his 
church home was with the Mount Arie Bap- 
tist church denomination at Letts' Corner, 
he took an active interest in all church 
work, and held the offices of deacon and 
clerk.. 

Job Shirk was married August 18, 1836, 
to .Mary L. Matthews, who died April 11. 
i8f)3. She was the daughter of Thomas 
Matthews, a farmer of Franklin county. 
Her brothers and sisters were: Minerva, 
Mrs. G. :M. Fieber: Melinda, Mrs. William 
Howell; (ieorge and Jones. Mr. and .Mrs. 
Shirk were the jjarenis of seven children, 
as follows: Thomas .\.. whose name heads 
this sketch; (ieorge. who was a soldier in 
the civil war and was for a long time con- 
fined in the terrible .\ndersonville prison, 
from which he was transferred to Florence, 
South Carolina, and died while still a pris- 
oner; Joab, a soldier in the same war, who 
was killed in battle at Port Republic, Vir- 
ginia; Melinda, who married J. M. Proc- 
tor for her first husband, L. P. Herod for 
her second, and is now the wife of W. W. 
I-owc. of Indianaijolis; Samuel, who mar- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ried Miss Emma Clendenning and resides 
in Indianapolis; Minerva, who married 
George Gilchrist; and Rhoda E., deceased, 
who was the wife of William Kennedy. 
Mr. Job Shirk was a good neighbor, a kind 
husband and father, and a man respected by 
all who knew him. 

Thomas A. Shirk was reared to manhood 
on his father's farm, which is now his own 
property. His education was limited to the 
primitive schooling of those days, but he 
used every opportunity to put to a practical 
use all the knowledge he obtained and be- 
came a well informed man, who has made 
a success of life. During his youth and 
early manhood Mr. Shirk assisted his father 
in the management of the farm, which in- 
cluded the care of stock, and he pursued his 
daily routine of duties without troubling 
himself about the affairs of state. But in 
i86i the cry "To arms'" sounded through- 
out the land, and with hundreds of young 
men the farmer boy threw down his imple- 
ments of labor and hastened to of¥er his 
services in defense of the stars and stripes. 
In September, 1861, he enlisted, at Law- 
renceburg, in Company H, Thirty-seventh 
Indiana Volunteers, which was assigned to 
the Fourteenth Army Corps, under com- 
mand of "Pap" Thomas. He saw hard 
service in many battles, was several times 
slightly wounded, and attained the rank of 
sergeant. He participated in the battles of 
Stone River, Tullahoma, Tunnel Hill, 
Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Buzzards' 
Roost, Lovejoy Station and smaller affairs, 
and went through the Atlanta campaign. 
In October, 1864, he returned to Indian- 
apolis, where he was honorably discharged. 
He then returned to his home and resumed 
farming. 



In 1865 Mr. Shirk was married to Miss 
Mary E. Fulton, and settled on a portion of 
the home farm. The following year his 
father built a new house, and the two fami- 
lies lived together until the death of the 
parent, when, by the terms of his will, the 
land w^as divided and our subject became 
the owner of the homestead and buildings, 
where he has continued to reside. In ad- 
dition to this he owns another good farm 
near by, four hundred and forty acres in all, 
of well improved land. He was the execu- 
tor of his father's will and carried out his 
plans and wishes in regard to the property. 
He has also been the executor of wills for 
many other people, has been administrator 
and trustee of a number of estates, and has 
been appointed guardian of both old and 
young. He has the reputation of being an 
upright, honorable man, of good judgment 
and practical knowledge in business affairs, 
and stands high in his community. In poli- 
tics he has always been a Republican, influ- 
ential in his party, Init never aspiring to of- 
fice. He is enterprising and public-spirited, 
and has earned the respect of all who know 
him. 

Mr. Shirk's first wife was born January 
21, 1843, 3"f' (lied August 31, 1872, when 
only twent}'-nine years old. She was the 
mother of two children, Mary E. and Mar- 
tha S., the latter dying when three years of 
age. Mrs. Shirk was a consistent member 
of the Methodist church. Her parents 
were William and Susanna R. Fulton,, who 
were natives of Shelby county, Kentucky, 
but on account of slavery they left that state 
and came to Decatur county at a very early 
day. They first located at Greensburg, but 
later entered land in Jackson township and 
improved a farm there on which the father 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



313 



died in 1853. It was said that he was the 
neatest and most systematic farmer in the 
township, as well as one of the heaviest tax- 
payers, lie was a consistent member of 
tlie Methodist church and took an active 
part in its affairs. Politically he was a 
Whig-, but never aspired to office. The 
children in the Fulton family w-ere: Cath- 
erine, Mrs. J. Keisling; Eliza J., Mrs. S. Mc- 
CuUough; Paulina, Mrs. J. Morrow; Mar- 
tha, Mrs. G. Laugh; Mary E., wife of our 
subject; America, deceased; and Samuel 
David, who resides on the old homestead. 

Mr. Shirk was again married, December 
18, 1877, his second wife being Mrs. Eu- 
phamia J. Byers, a widow with one son. 
She was 1:)orn December 28. 1846, and was 
the daughter of Rol^ert and Pamelia (An- 
derson) Braden, of Kentucky. Her father 
was the son of James Braden, a native of the 
Emerald Isle, who emigrated to America 
and first took iip his residence in Kentucky. 
He came to Decatur county among the 
first settlers and located near Clarksburg, 
where he entered land and carried on farm- 
ing until his death. He and his family were 
strong in their anti-slavery sentiments. 
The family comprised nine children: l^e- 
becca, Jane, Mary, Jackson. Walter. Will- 
iam, Richard, Robert and John. 

Robert Braden was nine years old when 
his father came to Decatur county, and 
spent all his life upon the farm, which he 
purcliased when old enough, and brought it 
under a fine state of cultivation. He car- 
ried on general farming, also stock-raising 
to some extent, and was very successful. 
To all the worthy poor he has been charita- 
l)le and never turned the needy from his 
door. He was a member of the Christian 
church, and lived up to a high standard in 



all his dealings with his fellow men, thereby 
securing the confidence and respect of all 
who knew him. He was a Republican in 
his political \ie\\s, but did not care for of- 
fice. He died December 9, 1888, at the 
age of seventy-four years. Mrs. Braden 
resides with her son Jeremy in Greensburg. 
Her other children are: Joseph, who lives 
in Rossville, Illinois; Euphamia J., wife of 
our subject; Jeremy and Luther D. The 
father of Mrs. Braden, Joseph Anderson, 
was the first settler in Posey township, 
Franklin county, Indiana, and the town of 
Andersonville was named in his honor. He 
kept a country tavern, which was popular 
and well known throughout that section 
and was the starting point of Andersonville. 
Mr. and Mrs. Shirk have no children, but 
Edgar A. Byers. Mrs. Shirk's son by her 
first marriage, and Mary E. Shirk. Mr. 
Shirk's daughter by his former marriage, 
have been reared by them. Edgar A. By- 
ers was born February 27, 1865, and now 
has the management of his mother's home 
farm. He was married April 21, 1890. to 
Louisa Miers, daughter of Evan Miers, a 
farmer of Decatur county, and they have 
one child. Howard T., born June 17, 1897. 
Mr. Shirk is a member of the Baptist 
church, while his wife belongs to the Chris- 
tian church, but they are of one mind in 
their efforts to do all the good they can and 
to make the best of life. 



ELIZABETH SHAFER SHERA. 

This estimable lady, who has spent the 
largest part of her life in Decatur county, 
is the widow of Caleb Shera, who was a 
prominent and wealthy farmer of that 



314 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



county. Mr. Shera was born in Ireland in 
May, 1809, and when twenty-four years 
old he came with his father, his mother 
having previously died, to America, settling 
at first in Benton county, Ohio. On De- 
cember 21, 1837, he was married to Eliza- 
lieth Shafer, and in 1838 removed to Deca- 
tur county. He entered land in Jackson 
township, but subsequently sold a part of it, 
on which the town of Sardinia now stands. 
He improved a farm on the remainder, on 
which he made his home, one-quarter of a 
mile south of Sardinia, where he spent the 
remainder of his life, dying there October 
30, 1879. He carried on general farming, 
and was also extensively engaged in raising 
cattle and hogs for the market. He added 
from time to time to his property until he 
was the owner of nearly si.x hundred acres 
in Decatur county, besides a considerable 
amount of land in Boone county. He was 
successful in all his business operations, and 
at his death left a large estate to his wife 
and children. 

Mr. Shera did much to develop the town- 
ship in which he lived, in the way of clear- 
ing up land, remodeling farms and bringing 
them to a high state of productiveness, 
while his influence was always brought to 
bear on the side of educational and religious 
pi-ogress. He was a consistent member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, active in its 
work, liberal in its support and a constant 
attendant in its services. He filled many of 
its offices, and in his life carried out the 
precepts of the ^Master whom he so faith- 
fully served, thereby securing the love and 
esteem of all who knew him. 

Mrs. Shera was born in Franklin county. 
Indiana, February 16, 1818, and is a daugh- 
ter of John and Catherine (Whitman) Sha- 



fer. Her grandfather, also named John, 
was among the earliest pioneers of Franklin 
county, and there reared a large and inter- 
esting family, many of whom are still resid- 
ing there. The father of Mrs. Shera spent 
his entire life in that county, where he 
brought up a family of eleven children, 
namely: Jacob, who lives in Greensburg, 
Indiana; John, deceased, who was a local 
preacher living in Decatur county; Daniel, 
deceased, who was an exhorter residing in 
Indiana; Elizabeth, our subject, is next in 
order of birth; David, deceased, who was a 
farmer of this state: James, deceased, who 
was a resident of Madison county; Jesse, a 
farmer of Illinois; William, deceased, who 
also was an Illinois farmer; Isaac, a farmer 
also of that state; Mary Ann, who is now 
Mrs. Wardwell and living in Madison 
county; and Joseph, a wealthy resident of 
Franklin county. 

Mr. and }ilrs. Shera were also blessed 
with eleven children, as follows: John W.. 
who died September 20, 1880; Catharine, 
residing with her mother in Sardinia; Wil- 
liam, who died while a soldier in the civil 
war; James, an ex-soldier and a farmer liv- 
ing in Boone county, Indiana; Mary E.. 
who died in May, 1850; Thomas, living in 
Boone county, Indiana; Isaac, a farmer in 
Decatur county; Martha Ann, who became 
the wife of Mr. Wadkins. and lives in Kan- 
sas; Wilson, a farmer; Sylvester, who re- 
sides in Kansas; and Isabel, who died June 
16, 1875. Besides rearing this large family 
Mrs. Shera took an orphan niece. Efifie 
I., when only seven months old. who grew 
to womanhood and had just completed her 
education at Oxford College when she died, 
November 21, 1891. All of the children in 
this family are highly educated, some of 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



315 



them being graduates of Morris Hill Col- 
lege. 

Mrs. Shera is a woman of strong char- 
acter and was of great assistance to her hus- 
l^and during their early life in a new state. 
She has seen the country develop from 
boundless forests and long stretches of wild 
land, uninhabited save l)y the deer, wolf and 
other animals which disappear as civiliza- 
tion advances, to smiling fields and bounte- 
ous orchards, or to prosperous cities filled 
with pleasant homes. She has fulfilled the 
Scriptural injunction to "do with thy might 
what thy hands find to do," and. like the 
perfect woman of whom Solomon sings, 
"her children rise up and call her blessed." 
Mrs. Shera has always been highly esteemed 
by those who knew her best, all of whom 
unite in the wish that her last da\s may be 
her Ijest davs. 



R. P. H.XMILTOX. 



R. P. Hamilton, a leading lawyer and 
prominent citizen of Greensburg, comes of 
that mixture of nationalities which has pro- 
duced so many eminent men, he being of 
Scotch-Irish descent. His ancestors were 
driven from Scotland during the fierce re- 
ligious persecution in the reign of "Bloody 
Mary," and fled to the north of Ireland, 
where they found a home. From there, in 
1770, his paternal grandfather, when a 
yoimg man, emigrated to .America, the 
iiaxcn of the oppressed of all nations. 
\\ lion the Revolutionary war broke out he 
enlisted as a "minute man" from the colony 
of New York, and served throughout the 
entire conflict. He was in the Brandywine 
campaign, and took part in the battle of 
Monmouth, under General Washington. 



He received a land warrant for his services, 
and settled in what is now Titusville, 
Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1820, 
removing thence to near Georgetown, 
Ohio, where he died in 1825, aged seventy- 
five or eighty years. He married a Miss 
Lamb, and they had a family of seven chil- 
dren, all born near Titusville and all now de- 
ceased. 

The parents of our subject. Hugh and 
Mary (Woods) Hamilton, were married in 
1826. and had a family of eleven children, 
si.x sons and five daughters, all oi whom 
grew to maturity. The father was born 
October 28. 1800. and grew to manhood 
near Titusville. In 1826. after his mar- 
riage, he removed to JetTerson county, In- 
diana, where he lived for eleven years, and 
then took up his residence on a farm in Rip- 
ley county. Indiana. This property com- 
prised five hundred acres, which was 
brought under fine cultivation and yielded a 
handsome income. Mr. Hamilton took an 
active part in politics, was a leading man in 
the Democratic party of his locality, and 
filled a number of township offices. He 
died in Ripley county about April 20, 1888. 
Mary (Woods) Hamilton, the mother of 
our subject, was l)orn in Kentucky in 1805. 
The family was of Welsh descent, and rep- 
resentatives of the same were pioneer set- 
tlers of Kentucky, locating in that state 
when the Indians were numerous there, and 
they had many thrilling cxiieriences with 
the savages. Mrs. 1 lamilton died in Ripley 
county, in 1875. 

R. P. Hamilton was reared on his father's 
farm, in Ripley county, and was educated 
at Hanover College, at which he graduated 
in 1872. From that date until 1884 he 
taught school, chiefly in Decatur county. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



and was principal of the schools at Clarks- 
burg for three years. He sen-ed two years 
as deputy treasurer of Decatur county from 
1885 to 1887, and in 1886 was elected coun- 
ty recorder, which office he filled until 1895. 
For two years he has l^een trustee of Han- 
over College, his alma mater. 

While teaching at Clarksburg Mr. Ham- 
ilton took up the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1880. He prac- 
ticed for a time before his election to county 
offices, and immediately on the expiration 
of his second term as recorder he resumed 
his law work, and has built up an extensive 
practice, largely in the probate court. He 
has also been engaged in the fire-insurance 
business, and was for some years a director 
in the Working Man's Building & Loan 
Association. He is a stockholder in the 
Greensburg Improvement Association, 
which was the means of bringing the factor- 
ies to this place. He is also engaged to 
some extent in farming. 

Mr. Hamilton is a leading member of the 
Presbyterian church, in which he held the 
office of treasurer for five years, and for 
many years he has been one of its elders. 
Socially he belongs to Decatur Lodge, No. 
103. L O. O. F., is past grand and the pres- 
ent treasurer of the same, and was a trustee 
for a long time. As will be seen from this 
brief sketch of his life. Mr. Hamilton is a 
"man of affairs," alive to the interests of 
his city and ready to serve it in any way. 
He is a man of strict integrity, and makes 
friends wherever he goes. 

Mr. Hamilton was first married in i8(S8, 
to Ellen Denham, of Ripley county, and 
three children were born to them — Clara 
B.; Elmer J., a student in the senior class 
of the Ohio Dental College; and Herschel 



B. The mother died in 1893, and in 1896 
]\Ir. Hamilton was married to Esther L. 
Freeman, of Clarksburg. 



WALTER W. BONNER. 

\\^alter W. Bonner is the present cashier 
of the Third National Bank. His family is 
one of the old and honored ones of Decatur 
county, having been for more than three- 
score and ten years intimately associated 
with its progress. 

The ancestral history of our subject is 
given, at some length, in the biography of 
Judge Bonner, which is to l^e found else- 
where in this work. He is a son of the 
Hon. William H. Bonner, a native of Wil- 
cox county, Alabama, who, in the spring of 
1836, accompanied the parental family to 
Indiana, settling upon a farm in the vicinity 
of Spring Hill, Fugit township. There he 
grew to manhood and passed his long and 
useful life in agricultural pursuits. He was 
a very good financier and made a special 
success of the live-stock business. In dis- 
position he was quiet and unassuming, and 
this tendency kept him from j^ursuing the 
more public walks of life, for the most part, 
though he had numerous opportunities to 
occupy official positions of trust and honor. 
He was in thorough sympathy with the 
platform and policy of the Republican 
party, and was nominated and elected as a 
representative of this county to the Indiana 
state legislature, in 1868, but at the expir- 
ation of his term retired to private life, de- 
clining renomination. During his candi- 
dacy he stumped this entire section, and 
made many friends for the cause he was 
devoted to, but the quiet home circle and 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



317 



his accustomed routine of business were 
much more to his taste. J-larly in life he 
joined the I'nited Presbyterian church, of 
Spring Hill, and from that time until his 
death he was one of the most faithful mem- 
bers and contributors to the cause of relig- 
ion and benevolence. Esteemed in his own 
congregation as a true "father in Israel," 
he was looked up to and consulted in all the 
enterprises of the church, and for many 
years was a ruling elder, lie died .\ugust 
12, 1874. His first marriage was to El- 
mira L., sister of the late Tliomas M. Ham- 
ilton, prominently known in this county. 
After her deatli, Mr. Bonner wedded Nar- 
cissa E. Elliott, by whom he had two sons, 
— Hciu-y 1".. and Walter \\'., and one daugh- 
ter, Mary V. Henry !•". is a successful 
farmer of Spring Hill. 

The l)irtli of Walter W. Bonner occurred 
on the old home place, near Spring Hill, 
July 30, i860. In his youth he was en- 
gaged in the usual occupations that fall to 
the lot of the farmer's boy, and his element- 
ary education was obtained in the district 
schools. Later he attended the Indiana 
State University, at Bloomington, until he 
arrived at his junior year, when he con- 
cluded to take up the study of law without 
longer delay. This was in 1881, and for a 
period he studied in the law offices of 
Judges Miller and Gavin, then of Greens- 
burg. Judge Miller has since entered the 
silent land, and Judge Gavin is now a resi- 
dent of Indianapolis. In the fall of 1882 
our subject was admitted to the bar of 
Decatur county, but when the Third Na- 
tional Bank was organized, in the January 
ensuing, he accepted a position as book- 
keciJcr. and in 1884 was elected assistant 
cashier. Later he was chosen to fill the 



position of cashier, to succeed the late Cor- 
tez Ewing, who had held that office from 
the founding of the bank. Accordingly, he 
entered upon his new duties on the 3d of 
February, 1887, and has continued to give 
entire satisfaction to everyone doing busi- 
ness with the bank up to the present time. 
His judicious management of the affairs 
entrusted to him is largely responsible for 
the gradually increasing volume of business 
transacted by the bank, and its patrons are 
uniformly his friends. 

Fifteen years ago, in Scplenibcr. 18S4, 
the marriage of Mr. Bonner and Libbie 
Donnell, of Spring Hill, was solemnized. 
A daughter, Ruth, now thirteen years of 
age, adds to the happiness of the pleasant 
home of this estimable couple, who move in 
the best social circles of the city and take 
an active interest in its welfare. 



BENJAMIN F. MOOKl-. 

One of the substantial and pros])erous 
farmers of Jackson township, Decatur coun- 
ty, is Benjamin F. Moore, well known in his 
section. He was born in Butler county, 
Ohio, September 14. 1840, was educated 
in the common schools and reared to the 
honest labor of a farmer's lad. He remained 
at his parental homestead until twenty-two 
years of age, then married and settled on 
a portion of his father's farm. Seven years 
later he went l)ack to the home to care for 
his father, who with increasing years felt 
the loneliness resulting from the death of 
the beloved companion of his youth, who 
passed away in 1861. 

Our subject was married in 1863 to Miss 
Annie Bentlev. who bore him three chil- 



318 



DECATUR COUNTY 



dren: Ulysses E.. who is a farmer on the 
okl homestead; Alta M.. Mrs. W. Jackson; 
and Anna. The mother, who was a most 
estimable woman and a consistent member 
of the Presbyterian church, died January 
19, 1877. Two years after the death of 
his wife, Mr. Moore, having placed his fath- 
er in the care of a brother-in-law, was mar- 
ried again, and, purchasing a farm from 
\V. Rutherford, he moved upon it and be- 
gan farming for himse'.f. He remained on 
this place nearly three years, then sold it 
to J. E. Robbins and returned to the home 
farm and cared for his father until the lat- 
ter's death in 1885. He then purchased 
the interests of the other heirs in the home- 
stead and has since made his home there. 
He is a general farmer and stock-raiser and 
has made a successful one. In politics he 
is in sympathy with the Democratic party, 
but has never held an elective office, al- 
though he has served on the advisory board 
of the township. He is a member of the 
Presbyterian church, in which he was for 
many years a deacon and is now- filling the 
office of elder. 

Mr. Moore was married to his second 
wife, Miss Cynthia Cheek, August 27, 1878. 
and by this union one child has been born, 
Luna M., who is at home. Mrs. Moore was 
born in Decatur county, October 2, 1845, 
and is a daughter of John and Catharine 
(Goodman) Cheek, both natives of Dear- 
born countv. Her father was a farmer, 
very popular in his community and influ- 
ential in politics in that locality. He was 
a Democrat and served as trustee, was con- 
sidered an honest and honorable man, and 
was a member of the Baptist church. He 
died in March, 1878, his wife having pre- 
ceded him in 1877. The Cheek family com- 



prised eleven children, as follows: James, 
a farmer and local Baptist preacher; Moses; 
Simeon; Cynthia, Mrs. Moore; Ruth, Mrs. 
Samuels; John, a farmer; Catharine, Mrs. 
Randall; Charles, a farmer; Mobeal, Mrs. 
C. Evans; Penelope, Mrs. I. Davis; and 
William, a farmer. 

The first Mrs. Moore was a daughter of 
\\'illiam and Sarah Bentley, of Ohio, who 
came to Indiana at an early day and im- 
pro\ed a good farm in Jackson township, 
where they spent the remainder of their 
lives. Mr. Bentley was a \Miig and later 
a Republican, but never held office. He 
was a member of the Baptist church, in 
which he was a deacon, while his wife be- 
longed to the Presbyterian denomination. 
The family was highly respected and es- 
teemed by the community in which they 
lived. There were ten children born of 
these parents, namely: Ebenezer; Adolph- 
us; Gideon; Calvin; Alexander; Louisa, 
Mrs. L. N. Brunton; Sarah, Mrs. B. F. 
Linch; Annie, Mrs. B. F. Moore; Leathy, 
deceased; and Calvin. 

The parents of Mr. Moore were Turner 
and Charlotte (Evans) Moore, the former 
of whom was born in Mercer county, Ken- 
tucky, and the latter in Ohio. They w^ere 
married in the latter state and came to 
Decatur county, Indiana, in 1843. At this 
time the country was in a primitive condi- 
tion; to prepare the land for crops the 
trees had to be felled, brush cleared away, 
roads made and fences built. The days 
were filled with hard work, neighbors were 
few and distant from each other, and even 
the necessaries of life had to be hauled a 
long distance; but patience and persever- 
ance conquered all these obstacles and the 
homes wrested from the wilderness were 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



so nuicli tlu- (Ic-arcr for tho lalior ihcy had 
cost. Mr. Moore lie!i)i.-(l roll lo,-;s a iiuin- 
Wv of (la\s. llieii huilt a cabin and set to 
work with couraj^o and determination. In 
the course of lime lie had a good farm and 
devoted considerable attention to stock- 
raising, l)iiying, feeding, and selling cattle 
to the neighboring farmers and at the near- 
est market. He was an honorable, upright 
man and had the resjiect of the entire com- 
munitv. lie was a Democrat in his politic- 
al views, and with his wife was a member 
of the Presbyterian church. Their children 
were ten in number, as follows: William 
L., a farmer in Jackson township. Decatur 
county: Martha A., Mrs. (i. A. Patrick: 
Benjamin F., the subject of this sketch: 
Fannie V... deceased: llulda J.. Mrs. AF 
Thompson: ILirriet E., Mrs. T. Matthews; 
h-lihraim D.. who was engaged in farming 
in Decatur county and is deceased; Oliver 
P.. who died when seventeen years old; 
Albert U.. a farmer, also deceased; and 
John .\., farming in Decatur county. 

The mother of B. F. Moore was a daugh- 
ter of W'illiaiu I'Aans. who removed from 
Maryland to I'.uller couiUy, Ohio, and sub- 
secpiently, in ii^3'i. came to Decatur coun- 
ty, Indiana. He located with his family 
in Jackson township, where he entered 
three Inmdred and twenty acres of land and 
was a very successful farmer. The first 
home they had was a log cabin in the clear- 
ing, surrounded by trees of various kinds, 
and the children used to go out and pick up 
bushels of hickory-nuts, lying all around 
the house. There was an abundance of 
nuts, wild grapes, crab-apples, plums and 
persimmons to be had for the gathering; 
so the young folks had plenty to do to pro- 
\ide for the winter's store of good things. 



Mr. Evans carried on general farming and 
was looked upon as a good citizen, reliable 
and honest in all his dealings. Both he and 
his wife were consistent Christians, he be- 
ing a member of the Swendenborgian 
church, and she of the Presbyterian church. 
Mr. Evans died in 1864, his wife surviving 
him until 1885. They had ten children, 
namely: Jt)hn, who is now eighty-five years 
old; Charlotte, the mother of our subject: 
Dinah. Ephraim. Elizabeth, Sarah. Ivl- 
ward, Martha, William and Flarrict. 



HUGH THOMAS McCRACKI':\. 

The wave of iiumigration which carried 
in its current a large population from the 
southeastern states to what was then the 
new northwest, lirought into Indiana, by 
way of Kentucky, hundreds of the families 
which contributed most effectually to the 
growth and develoijment of the resources 
of this now flourishing commonwealth. 
.Among these the McCracken family was 
prominent, and for two or three generations 
they have borne their share of the hai;d- 
ships and responsibilities which rest upon 
the shoulders of the sturdy frontiersmen. 

James McCracken, grandfather of the 
subject of this article, was born in Ken- 
tucky, and. when arrived at maturity, he 
there married Sally Meek. Some years 
later they removed to this state and took up 
their permanent abode in Fugit township, 
being numbered among its earliest settlers. 
Entering land, the worthy man engaged in 
its cultivation until his death, which event 
occurred in September, 1857. His wife 
survived him a few years, dying in October. 
1864. They were the parents of four sons 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



aud three daughters, namely: Thomas, 
Hugh. Adam R.. John J.. Betsy, Martha 
and Ann, of whom only one, Adam R., is 
now living, his home being near Greens- 
burg. 

John McCracken. our subject's father, 
was a native of Kentucky, and, like his an- 
cestors, he followed agricultural pursuits 
as a means of livelihood. He owned and 
greatly improved the farm which now is in 
the possession of his son, Hugh T., and here 
he continued to dwell until death released 
him from the cares of life. His first wife 
was his cousin Sarah Ami, daughter of 
Hugh McCracken, and her death took place 
in 1869. To this marriage three sons and 
two daughters were born, namely: David, 
Hugh T., Martha Louise, Benjamin P., and 
Mary, who died when young. The second 
wife of John McCracken was Mary Spell- 
man, and four children blessed their union: 
Newton Jasper, John W., Gilbert G., and 
Myrtie Ann. 

Born November 22. 1843, on the old 
home place, Hugh Thomas McCracken's 
first memories are of this place and vicinity, 
and from his early years he has loved and 
been identified with the welfare of this com- 
munity. In choosing a life partner he was 
very judicious, and his marriage to Martha 
Ellen Kincade, daughter of John and Pris- 
cilla Kincade, old residents of this town- 
ship, has been a happy one. The ceremony 
which united their destinies was performed 
October 27, 1864. Four children were 
born to this estimable coupk, named in or- 
der of birth: Cynthia Ann, Sarah Ellen. 
Mary E. and Wilma Ordie. The McCrack- 
en family are identified as members with 
the Spring Hill Presbyterian church, and 
are always counted upon to perform their 



full share in all good works carried on in 
this vicinity. Like his grandfather and 
father, Mr. McCracken is a Democrat in 
politics. 



DAVID N. HAMILTON. 

David Nelson Hamilton, an old and re- 
spected citizen of Greensburg, was liorn 
near Cynthiana, Harrison county, Ken- 
tucky, December 9, 18 17. His parents 
were Joseph and Jane (Dills) Hamilton. 
The grandfather, Benjamin Hamilton, was 
a native of Ireland, but emigrated to this 
country before the Revolutionary war. He 
was a very large, powerfully built man, and 
by occupation was a weaver of linens, etc. 
He settled in Bourbon county, Kentucky, 
and there engaged in raising poultry and 
stock. In religion he was a Presbyterian, 
and in politics a Jackson Democrat. He 
married Miss Nancy Wallace, of Scotch de- 
scent, and their family consisted of four 
sons and three daughters. Grandfather 
Hamilton died in Ripley county, Indiana, 
at the good old age of eighty-two years. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Bourbon county, Kentucky, where he mar- 
ried and had a family of two daughters and 
four sons. His wife died in 1830, and he 
again married, his second wife being Polly 
Martin. In 1834 the family moved to Indi- 
ana, and located near Rising Sun. Mr. 
Hamilton had previously bought eighty 
acres of tend in Clifty, in this county, and 
after two years removed to it, and there 
carried on farming and stock-raising until 
his death, in 1855, at the age of sixty-four 
years. 

David Nelson Hamilton was in his eigh- 
teenth year when the family came to Deca- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



321 



tiir einiiiiw and tliree years later went to 
Iviplcv ctinniy. wliere his paternal sjrand- 
partMils then resiiled, and for some time 
made his home with them. While there he 
attended sehool, and in 1S37-8 tanght 
school for nine months, after which he re- 
turned to his old home in Harrison county. 
Kentucky. From there he removed, on 
March 17. 1S39. to Clifty. near Sandusky, 
where he bought of Elias Ferguson a lease 
nf land owned by Jacob Sandusky, of Bour- 
bon county, Kentucky. This land com- 
|)rised twenty acres, of which three were 
devoted to rye and three to wheat. On this 
place he remained nearly four years, and 
then again took up school-teaching. 

Some time later Mr. Hamilton visited his 
father, intending to go on to Missouri, but 
instead he used his earnings to purchase 
a farm in Adams townshiii. Decatur coun- 
ty. He followed farming for many years, 
his last place comprising three liundred and 
twenty acres. Mr. Hamilton has always 
been an industrious and enterprising man, 
and deeply interested in educational mat- 
ters. It was owing mainly to his efforts 
ihat the building known as the White Oaks 
school-house was erected, and he taught the 
first school held in it. While on the farm he 
dealt in stock to some extent, and often 
wintered over one hundred head of mules, 
one hundred hogs and a number of sheep 
and cattle. 

In politics Mr. Hamilton was in his early 
days an old-time Whig, and readily en- 
dorsed the principles of the Republican 
party, which are along the same line. He 
voted for William Henry Harrison, and 
was solicited to become a representative 
for his district and also to serve as justice 
of the peace. He united with the Methodist 



church in 1844, and has always been active 
in church work, filling many of its offices 
and giving liberally of his time and money 
to its support. He has for many years been 
a member of the Masonic fraternity, join- 
ing that order at .Adams. 

Mr. Planiihon's lirst wife was Martha 
Ann Ta\lor. to whom he was married in 
Harrison county. Kentucky, March 17. 
1839. She bore him five sons and five 
daughters, of whom all but two are living. 
The mother of these children died Decem- 
ber 23. 1863, and in 1864 Mr. Hamilton 
married Miss Julia Nichols, of Harrison 
county, Kentucky. 



ELMER C. JERMAN. 

This gentleman, who is closely identified 
with the educational interests of Decatur 
county, and who is one of the most highly 
esteemed citizens of Greensburg. was bom 
near Delaware, Ripley county, Indiana. 
June 26, 1869, and is the son of Dr. E. W. 
D. and S. L. (Lee) Jerman. His grand- 
father, William Jerman. was a native of 
Maryland, but removed to Ripley county 
in 1835. when he was quite young. He 
there spent the remainder of his life, being 
quite extensively engaged in farming. He 
died some time in the '60s. at the age of 
fifty years. He was an active member of 
the Baptist church, an upright man and 
useful citizen. His wife was Miss Sarah 
Rounds, of Maryland, and they reared a 
family of eleven children. 

Dr. Jerman. the father of our subject, 
was born in Ripley county. Indiana. Octo- 
ber 15. 1837. and there resided until 1887. 
when he removed to Newpoint, Decatur 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



county, where he now lives. He was edu- 
cated at Franklin College, at Franklin, In- 
diana, and for a few years taught school. 
Subsequently he began the study of medi- 
cine, and in 1878 was graduated from the 
Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati. Dr. 
Jerman is a man of fine attainments, skill- 
ful in his profession, and has always com- 
manded an extensive practice. He was 
married to Sarah L. Lee March 12, 1863, 
and five children were born to them: Ed- 
ward C, a medical electrician at Indianap- 
olis; Elmer C; Myrtle M. and Stella E., 
residing with their parents: and one who 
died in infancy. 

Elmer C. Jerman was educated at Frank- 
lin College, from which he was graduated, 
in the classical course, in 1892, with the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts. He subse- 
quently took a term in post-graduate work 
at the State Normal School, at Terre 
Haute, and also at Franklin College, re- 
ceiving the degree of Master of Arts from 
the latter institution, in 1895. He taught 
one term of school in Ripley county before 
his graduation, and also in Franklin county 
in 1892-3. In the latter year he was elected 
principal of the public schools in St. Paul, 
Decatur county, which office he held until 
1897. inclusive. He was then elected su- 
perintendent of schools for Decatur county, 
on the Republican ticket, and was re-elected 
in June, 1899, for a term of four years. He 
has been connected with the Decatur Coun- 
ty Summer Normal for the past two years, 
his special line being instruction in methods. 
In June, 1899, he was appointed on the 
board of directors of his alma mater, Frank- 
lin College, a deserved compliment to his 
standing as an educator. 

Mr. Jerman has deeply at heart the im- 



portance of raising the standard of scholar- 
ship for teachers, and his work in the school 
of methods is largely devoted to strength- 
ening their professional spirit. He is also 
trying to establish a uniform course of high- 
school work in the county. He is pos- 
sessed of boundless energy and persever- 
ance, is progressive in his ideas, possessed 
of superior natural gifts, and is so deeply 
in love with his vocation that he cannot 
fail to accomplish his end, which is the ele- 
vation of the profession of a teacher and 
the consequent improvement in the meth- 
ods of imparting instruction. 

Mr. Jerman, in spite of his busy life, finds 
time to belong to some of the fraternal or- 
ders, being a member of Newpoint Lodge, 
No. 255, F. & A. M., and St. Paul Lodge, 
No. 368. K. of P., in the latter of which he 
has been vice-chancellor. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, and is always 
ready to do his part in all enterprises for 
the public good. He is a favorite in social 
circles, and commands the respect of all 
who know him. 



WILLIAM A. ROBBINS. 

William A. Robbins is of German lineage 
and is descended from good old Revolu- 
tionary stock. His great-grandfather was 
a native of Germany and crossing the At- 
lantic to America took up his residence in 
Pennsylvania, where his son William Rob- 
bins (the latter was the grandfather of our 
subject) for eight years loyally served in 
the war of the Revolution, thus aiding in 
the struggle which brought to America 
her independence. When hostilities had 
ceased he removed to Virginia, where his 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



(.•liildii'ii were born, and at tlu- early period 
iif the development of Kentucky lie re- 
moved with his family to that slate. About 
iSj5 he eame to Indiana, where he joined 
his sons, who had entereil an eighty-acre 
tract of land and impro\ed a farm in Deca- 
tur county. He was a farmer, a gunsmith 
and blacksmith, and was a man of industry 
and enterprise. He died in 1835, his re- 
mains being interred in his adopted country. 
Reared in the faith of the Baptist church, 
he always adhered to that denomination, 
and in his political connections he was a 
Whig. His children were Xathaniel, Dosia, 
William. John, Marma.luke. Jacob, Polly 
and Lottie. 

John Robbins, the father of our subject, 
was married in Kcntuck\- to Miss Ruth 
.Anderson, and then located on the fann 
where two children were born to them, 
Mary E. and William A. In 1821 he came 
to Indiana, where he entered land, and the 
following year he brought his little family 
to the farm upon which our subject now 
resides. The place was then an unbroken 
tract upon which not a furrow bad been 
turned nor an improvement made. The 
forests abounded in wild game and not only 
turkeys and deer were killed, but occasion- 
ally a bear was shot in the locality. Brook- 
\ille was the nearest place where supplies 
could be obtained, and as there were no 
roads travel was by horseback through the 
unbroken country. The pioneer settlers 
endured many bardships and privations, 
but like others Mr. Robbins and his family 
met all difficulties courageously and partic- 
ipated largely in opening up this region to 
civilization. He was instrumental in secur- 
ing the establishment of the first church 
in this locality. Through his efforts a few 



earnest Christian peojile of the Methodist 
faith met together and prayer-meetings 
were held in the home of Mr. Robbins. 
They were attended by Ruth Robbins, J. H. 
Kirkpatrick and his wife and X. Rob- 
bins, and soon afterward John Stewart 
joined them. Late in the summer of 1822 
James Murray was on the Connersville cir- 
cuit, which extended into Ohio, and 
preached in the cabin of Calvin Hendricks, 
of Greensburg. There he met John Rob- 
bins, who desired him to make an appoint- 
ment to preach in his (Robbins") home. 
Mr. Murray made a conditional promise 
and not long afterward Mr. Robbins re- 
ceived a class paper made out in due form, 
which was sent from neighborhood to 
neighborhood until it reached Mr. Rob- 
bins, for there were no mails in those days. 
In that paper he was requested to open the 
doors of a church and receive such as would 
join him in conducting a class, and if he 
succeeded in forming a class to report to 
the conference. To this call A. L. and 
Xancy Anderson, Jacob Stewart, Elizabeth 
Garrison, Nathaniel Robbins, John Rob- 
bins and Ruth Robbins responded and thus 
was formed the first class of Methodists 
j and the first religious organization of De- 
catur county. Mr. Robbins sent his report 
to Mr. Murray and the class reported to 
the conference, and in the fall of 1823 Aaron 
Wood was appointed to Connersville circuit 
and arranged to hold regular services at 
the home of Mr. Robbins. X^ow a good 
church and nourishing Sunday-school are 
conducted on the site where were held the 
first religious meetings in the county. Mr. 
Robbins never wavered in the prosecution 
of his work, and during his life his house 
was the home of the pioneer preachers who 



324 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



came to that locality to deliver the message 
of Christianity to the pioneer settlers. 

He prosecuted his business with diligence 
and enterprise and thus became the owner 
of a good farm. He saw the country trans- 
formed from the wild region into one of 
prosperity, while Greensburg grew from a 
little hamlet to a thriving city. He was a 
broad-minded, intelligent man, possessed of 
many virtues, was charitable to the needy 
and kindly and obliging to his friends and 
neighbors. He commanded the respect 
and confidence of all who knew him. In 
politics he was first a Whig and afterward 
a Republican. He married Miss Ruth An- 
derson, a daughter of William and Sarah 
Anderson, who removed from \^irginia to 
Kentucky, the father dying in the latter 
state. In 1823 the mother came to Indiana, 
where her death occurred, in 1825. She 
had a family of six children, namely: Ruth, 
Sarah, Nellie, A. L., Wesley and James. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Rob- 
bins were Mrs. Mary E. Palmer, of Greens- 
burg; William A., and IVIrs. Sarah B. Ban- 
field, all yet li\-ing. 

\\'illiam A. Robbins. whose name begins 
this sketch, was born in Henry county, 
Kentucky, December 27, 1820, and during 
his early boyhood was brought to Decatur 
county, where amid the wild scenes of fron- 
tier life he was reared to manhood. After 
attaining his majority he purchased the 
old homestead of his father and throughout 
his business career he has carried on general 
farming and stock-raising, making a special- 
ty of the breeding of fine hogs. He is one 
of the leading swine dealers in this country 
and his fine stock have taken many oremi- 
ums at different local and state fairs. His 
farming operations have been systematic- 



ally conducted and as a result of his prac- 
tical and progressive methods he has ac- 
quired a handsome competence and is 
numbered among the substantial farmers 
of the neighborhood. 

Mr. Robbins was united in marriage to 
Miss Rebecca Gates, of Franklin county, 
Indiana, a daughter of a prominent and 
highly respected pioneer family. She died 
in 1 89 1. Her children are William, now a 
resident of Kokomo, Indiana; Charles F., 
a prominent attorney of Indianapolis; and 
J. G., who died at the age of forty-five 
years. In politics Mr. Robbins was a Re- 
publican and was reared in the faith of the 
Methodist church, to which he has always 
adhered. His life has been an honorable 
and upright one and he is both widelv and 
favoraldy known in his adopted county. 



JOHN P. HITTLE. 



The record of a successful life, and espe- 
cially that of a self-made man, is always 
interesting, not only to those of his imme- 
diate family but to the community in whose 
development he has been an important fac- 
tor. Decatur county can show many such 
histories, and among them is that of the 
gentleman whose name heads this sketch, 
and who for many years was a valued citi- 
zen of Greensburg, where his widow still 
resides. ~ 

Mr. Hittle was born in Butler county, 
Ohio, December 15. 1812, and was the son 
of Solomon Hittle. His education was 
limited to that which could be acquired in 
the common schools of those days, and 
when he started out for himself he learned 
the trade of carpenter. This, however, was 
not a congenial occupation, and his com- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



325 



fnercial instincts prompted him to become 
a merchant. Carefully saving his earnings 
until he had enough to purchase a limited 
amount of stock, he began storekeeping 
in a small way, at Camden, Ohio, being as- 
sociated with his brother. Squire Hittle, 
who afterward resided at Richmond, Indi- 
ana. In a few years Mr. Hittle removed to 
Richland, where he carried on merchan- 
dising until he came to Greensburg and 
opened a dry-goods store, to whicli he add- 
ed a clothing department. 

Later, Mr. Hittle gave up his business 
and for four years lived retired, but at the 
end of that time, in partnership with his 
son, John T., he organized the firm of J. P. 
Hittle & Son. From this time until his 
death, November 30, 1889, he was not en- 
gaged in active business, although he was 
among the earlier promoters of the natural- 
gas industry in Decatur county, and in 
l^artnership with Hubert Eich put down, 
in 1888, three of the first wells ever sunk 
in the county. 

Mr. Hittle was twice married. His first 
wife was Elizabeth Sefton, a resident of 
Decatur county, their marriage taking place 
on May 4, 1848. Three children were born 
of this union, of whom one died in infancy. 
Those living are Amelia, wife of J. H. Gal- 
tup, who for many years was a jeweler in 
( ireensburg and now follows the same busi- 
ness in Denver, Colorado; and Ella, the 
wife of J. H. Christian, a prosperous mer- 
chant of Greensburg. The mother of these 
children died September 12, 1856. and on 
February 2. 1858. Mr. Hittle was united in 
marriage w^ith Cynthia Jamison, who sur- 
vives him. 

By his untiring energy and perseverance, 
combined with excellent judgment and a 



system of fair dealing, Mr. Hittle became 
one of the leading merchants of Greens- 
burg and accumulated a handsome fortune. 
He was quiet and unassuming in his person- 
ality, a man of few words, but of an un- 
doubted integrity ul character which won 
him many friends, not only in the business 
world but also in social circles. He was an 
ardent advocate of the principles of the 
Republican party and took a deep interest 
in its success, but was never an aspirant 
for office. He was a member of the Presby- 
terian church at Greensburg and was al- 
ways ready to assist in all its enterprises. 
and in every relation in life his record is 
that of a Christian gentleman. 

Mrs. Hittle, who was born in Greens- 
burg, Indiana, January 15. 1835. is the 
daughter of Martin and Margaret (Free- 
man) Jamison, early pioneers of Decatur 
county. They were both natives of Wash- 
ington county, Pennsylvania, the former 
i)orn in 1806 and the latter in 1812. When 
they first settled in Greensburg there was 
but little prospect that it would ever become 
a city. What is now the public scjuare was 
a wilderness of stumps, and all the countrv 
about the place was in its primitive condi- 
tion. They li\ed to see many im]3rove- 
ments and took their share in the develop- 
ment of the town. Mr. Jamison was a man 
of fine natural ability and had a good edu- 
cation. He was an able lawyer, was prom- 
inent in political affairs, and represented 
Decatur county in the legislative sessions of 
1839-40-41-42. He was a stanch Whig and 
an admirer and supporter of Henn*- Clay. 
Before he began the practice of law Mr. 
Jamison followed merchandising for a time, 
bringing his goods from New York and 
Philadelphia by stage, and .sending back 



326 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



produce to pay for the same. After he took 
up the profession of law he rode over most 
of the country on horseback to make col- 
lections, a custom then in vogue among 
the attorneys of the "far west." Such facts 
as these show more forcibly than anything 
else the immense strides which have been 
made in these states which now, instead of 
being on the frontier of civilization, are far 
eastward of the center of this great repub- 
lic. Mr. James Freeman, whose daughter 
married Mr. Jamison, came to Decatur 
county about the same time as his future 
son-in-law, and was for many years a suc- 
cessful merchant of Greensburg. Mr. Jam- 
ison died in 1842 and his wife in 1849. 

Mrs. Hittle since the death of her hus- 
band has remained in her pleasant home 
at Greensburg, where her circle of friends 
is extensive. Here she finds ample em- 
ployment for her talents and for the abun- 
dant means with which she is blest, in min- 
istering to those in need and in aiding those 
efforts which have for their object the wel- 
fare of the community. She has recently 
suffered a severe affliction, in the death of 
her only child, John T. Hittle, who departed 
this life March 6, 1898, at the age of thirty- 
two years. He was one of the most suc- 
cessful young business men of Greensburg 
and gave promise of a long career of useful- 
ness. 



J.\MES G. ROBBINS. 

The name of Rol)bins has long l)een 
prominent in the history of Decatur coun- 
ty, Indiana, and of the citizens of the pres- 
ent generation bearing the name none is 
more widely or more favorably known than 
James G. Robbins, of Horace, a leading 



farmer and senior member of the firm of J. 
G. Robbins & Sons. 

James G. Robbins was born in Decatur 
county, June 10, 1829, a son of William and 
Eleanor (Anderson) Robbins and is a 
brother of the late John E. Robbins, one of 
the most prominent men in this part of the 
state. William Robbins was born in Vir- 
ginia, Augxist 6, 1797, Eleanor Anderson in 
the same state July 5, 1797. she having been 
about one month older than he. Mr. Rob- 
bins's grandfather, William Robbins, an 
Englishman, settled early in Pennsylvania 
and fought for the cause of the colonies all 
through the Revolutionary war. He went 
to Virginia after the war, and there his chil- 
dren were born. His wife was Mrs. Bethiah 
Robbins, and she was a widow of William 
Robljins when he married her, with two 
sons, named Abel and Benjamin, who were 
brought up by their stepfather. Abel lived 
out his days in Kentucky and Benjamin re- 
moved to Tennessee and died there. By 
William Robbins, her second husband (both 
husbands having the same name), she had 
children named as follows: Elizabeth (Mrs. 
Jesse Watkins), Jacob and Marmaduke 
(twins), Mary (Mrs. J. H. Kirkpatrick), 
Nathaniel, John and \\'illiam (younger 
sons), Charlotte (Mrs. A. L. Anderson), 
Dosia (Mrs. J. Herron). The family re- 
moved to Kentucky and came from there 
to Indiana in due course of events. John 
was first to come, in 182 1, and Nathaniel 
and Marmaduke came in 1822. The others 
came afterward. William Robbins, Sr., 
anil his wife came in 1828. He died Sep- 
tember II, 1834, his widow December 8, 
1850. \\'hen his father went from Virginia 
to Kentucky William Robbins, father of 
James G. Robbins, was si.x years old. He 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



took up land in Indiana in 182 1 and first 
made his home on it in 1823. He had a 
team, a wagon and some stock, besides a 
little portable personal property, but his 
little cash capital was borrowed. For con- 
siderable distances he had to cut his way 
through the woods to his new home and 
some of the streams he had to cross were 
serious obstacles to his progress. But he 
was a young man of jjluck and persever- 
ance, and he finally arrived safely at his des- 
tination and established a camp which he 
utilized as well as he could until he was 
able to build a small log house, at first 
scarcely more than a shelter. He soon had 
comfortabje improvements and a good 
patch of land under cultivation and the new 
farm in the Indiana woods was made self- 
sustaining. He raised wool and flax and 
his wife spun and wove and colored the ma- 
terial and did the family's primitive tailor- 
ing. He farmed successfully and bought 
land to such an extent that he gave each of 
his children at marriage an eighty-acre 
farm, retaining another of one hundred and 
twenty acres for the one who should give 
him and his wife a home in their old age. 
He was a Whig and an abolitionist, an hon- 
est man who hated a lie and was ver\' severe 
upon all sham and pretense, eminently a 
friendly man of fine social qualities. He 
died February 3, 1865. 

Eleanor Anderson, who became his wife, 
was a daughter of James Anderson, who re- 
moved from Virginia to Kentucky in the 
old. interesting pioneer days. Journeying 
by flat-boat down the Ohio river to Henry 
county. Kentucky, some distance below 
Cincinnati, he set up there as a farmer and 
remained until the end of his life. , He had 
children as follows: Weslev, James, Ruth 



(Mrs. John Robbins), Eleanor (Mrs. Wil- 
liam Robbins), Nancy (Mrs. W. White), 
Isaac and Sarah; and all of these except the 
last two removed to Indiana. William and 
Eleanor (Anderson) Robbins had children 
named as follows in the order of their na- 
tivity: Sarelda R. (Mrs. W. Stires), John E. 
(who became prominent in Indiana), Will- 
iam M. (who died young), James G. (the 
immediate sul)ject of this sketch), and Mer- 
ritt H. (who is dead). 

James G. Robbins was educated in the 
common schools and by hard work gained a 
practical knowledge of agriculture. He re- 
mained under the parental roof until he was 
twenty-five years old assisting in the farm 
operations of the homestead until he be- 
came of age, when he and his brother Mer- 
ritt (now dead) rented the place and man- 
aged it on their own account. In 1853 he 
married Miss Elniira H. Stout and made a 
home on land which he Iwught for that pur- 
pose. A few years later he went back to 
his father's homestead, at his parents' re- 
quest, to afford them the care they required 
in their old age, and later inherited the 
])lace, which he subsequently gave to one of 
his own sons. He early gave intelligent 
attention to general farming and to the 
handling of stock, in which he was so suc- 
cessful that he gradually ac(|uired a large 
amount of land. He has given to each of 
his children a good-sized farm and retains a 
fine home for himself. In 1876 he began 
breeding thoroughbred .shorthorn cattle, 
purchasing stock in Kentucky for that pur- 
pose. He has made purchases since, al- 
ways of first-class stock, and now owns the 
finest herd of cattle in eastern Indiana. He 
has made exhil)its at various fairs and has 
always proven a formidable competitor. He 



328 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



has sold calves in about every state and ter- 
ritory in the United States and is known 
throughout the entire country as one of 
America's leading stockmen. He is an 
honorable, enterprising, successful and pub- 
lic-spirited man, independent in his views, 
and influential as an earnest Republican who 
has never sought and would not accept any 
pubHc office. 

Miss Elmira H. Stout, the lady who be- 
came Mrs. James G. Robbins, was a daugh- 
ter of Rev. Joab and Amanda (Raridan) 
Stout, and was born in Franklin county, 
Indiana, September 28, 1834. Her par- 
ents were early settlers in Franklin county, 
and her father passed the active years of 
his life in the ministry of the Baptist church. 
The family removed from Franklin county 
to Decatur county in 1851 and ^Ir. Stout 
bought a farm upon w hich there were some 
improvements and upon which he made 
more and which he traded later for another, 
which he sold to Mr. Robbins when he re- 
tired from active life to make his home with 
his son at Letts Corners. He died in 1887, 
having reared a large and e§timable family. 
He was twice married. By his first wife his 
children were: Milton and Jonathan, both 
of whom died young; Rhoda E. (Mrs. J. M. 
Brown); Elmira H. (Mrs. James G. Rob- 
bins); and Alary E. (Mrs. William Murphy, 
later Mrs. M. Howard). By his second 
marriage he had children as follows: Joab 
H., a farmer; Sarah E. (Mrs. J. E. Tanner); 
John \\'.. of Greensburg, Indiana; Isaac M., 
who was a soldier in the cause of the Union 
in tlie c\x\\ war and died unmarried soon 
after his return home: Rachel J. (Mrs. A. 
G. Taylor); Helen (Mrs. Thomas Eu- 
banks); Frances R. (Mrs. J. Templetori); 
and Clarissa, who died young. 



James G. and Elmira H. (Stout) Robbins 
have children as follows: William S., a 
farmer and stockman and a representative 
of the Breeders' Gazette; John E., a mem- 
ber of the firm of J. G. Robbins & Sons; 
and Elmira F., wife of the Rev. J. F. 
Huckleberry, of the Missionary Baptist 
church. With this religious denomination 
all of Mr. Robbins's family are identified. 



BENJAMIN S. WHITE, M. D. 

Dr. Benjamin Smith White, a successful 
and highly respected physician of Greens- 
burg, the son of Frank S. and Rebecca A. 
(Reilly) White, was born in Decatur coun- 
ty, Indiana, January 18, 1855. His pater- 
nal grandfather, Conyard \\'hite, was of 
English descent, and came west from Vir- 
ginia, settling near Newport, Kentucky. 
His earl}- life was spent in farming, but he 
later engaged in hotel-keeping in Alexan- 
dria, Campbell county, Kentucky, where 
he died. His wife was Sarah Spillman, and 
their family consisted of five sons and four 
daughters. 

Smith Reilly, the maternal grandfather 
of our subject, spent his early life in Camp- 
bell county, Kentucky, and about sixty- 
three years ago, at the age of forty years, 
he settled in Decatur county. He followed 
agricultural pursuits all his life, and was a 
prominent figure in local affairs. He was 
a Democrat, and for one term was county 
commissioner, and later was a candidate 
for state senator. He was a leading mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, filling various 
offices at different times in that organiza- 
tion. His home was five miles south of 
Greensburg, where he owned a large farm. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



He died in December, 1871, when nearly 
seventy-five years of age. Mr. Reilly mar- 
ried Lettice Spillman, a native of Ken- 
tucky, and nine children T\cre Ijorn to 
ihem — four sons and five daughters. All 
of the sons adopted the medical profession, 
and of these W. F. is deceased; J. H. S. 
is a resident of Decatur county; and O. S., 
of Red Oak, Iowa. Dr. W. F. Reilly was 
state senator, a politician of note, and had 
the largest practice of any physician in the 
county. He died in i860. 

Frank S. White, the father of our subject, 
was born in 181 2, on his fatlier's farm, near 
.\le.\andria, Kentucky, where he followed 
his trade, that of carpenter. He was a 
strong Democrat and took an intelligent in- 
terest in party affairs, was a great reader, 
well posted on the issues of the day, and 
held to liis opinions with firmness. He 
was an active worker in the Baptist church 
from his boyhood, and filled many positions 
of honor therein. He was twice married, 
his first wife being Rebecca .A. Reilly, who 
died in September, 1858. Two children 
were born to them: Sarah L.. who died in 
childhood, and Benjamin S. .Mr. White's 
second wife was Mrs. Jane Smith, of Ken- 
tucky, who died in 1894. His death oc- 
curred in Decatur county. Indiana, in 1887. 

Dr. Benjamin S. White was educated in 
the common schools of Decatur county, 
and took uj) the study of medicine under 
the instruction of his uncles. W. V. and J. 
H. S. Reilly. then of Sardinia. At the age 
of twenty-three he entered the College of 
Pliysicians & Surgeons, at Keokuk, Iowa, 
at which he graduated in 1881. He then 
located in Sardinia, where he practiced for 
three years, after which he removed to 
Letts Corner, remaininr^ there nearly four 



years. In 1899 the Doctor came to Greens- 
burg, where he is now practicing his pro- 
fession. In 1898 he took a post-graduate 
course in the Chicago Clinical School. He 
was United States pension examiner dur- 
ing the last administration of President 
Cleveland. Dr. White is an active member 
of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal 
church at Greensburg, and belongs to Letts 
Corner Lodge, No. 357, K. of P., and was 
keeper of record and seal for three years. 

Dr. White was married October i, 1884, 
to Ina D., daughter of John and Elisia 
Watkins, who were natives of Kentucky. 
Dr. \\'hite is a genial gentleman and worthy 
of the high esteem in which he is held. 



MATTHEW E. PORTER. 

The subject of this notice is of the blood 
of \'irginia and Kentucky which has given 
to Indiana one of the most virile and valu- 
able elements of its population, and in one 
line descended from an ancestor who, as an 
.Xnicrican colonist, risked his life in defense 
of the crown, in Indian warfare, and later 
imperiled it again for American freedom in 
the struggle for the independence of the 
colonies from British authority. In his 
own life he has shown iiimself possessed of 
all those characteristics which go to consti- 
tute the industrious, high-minded and pro- 
gressive citizen. 

Matthew E. Porter is a son of Alexander 
and Elizabeth (Elder) Porter and was born 
July 5. 1836, on the Porter homestead, in 
Decatur county, near where he now lives. 
His father was a son of David Porter, of 
\'irginia, and came early to Dearborn 
county, Indiana. He saw much warfare in 



DECATUR COUNTY 



his time, having served under the king five 
years in campaigns against Indians and five 
years in the patriot army during the strug- 
gle of our forefathers for American inde- 
pendence. He was an old man when he 
came to Dearl)orn county, but he went 
about the w'ork of a pioneer with all the 
vigor and hopefulness of youth and cleared 
and improved a good farm. His wife, who 
survived him for several years, lived with 
her son Alexander until she died. Their 
children were David, John, James, Alexan- 
der, and Mary, who became Mrs. Evans. 
All of them are deceased. 

Alexander was the first white child born 
in Dearborn county, where he remained un- 
til, at twenty-three, he removed to Decatur 
county, and leased school land, though later 
he entered government land, on which he 
settled and which he improved and left to 
his son, the immediate subject of this 
sketch. He experienced all the hardships 
of pioneer life and showed his public spirit 
by assisting every movement tending to the 
development of the county and the pros- 
perity of its people. He did not marry un- 
til he was thirty-six. His wife was a daugh- 
ter of Rev. Matthew Elder, a native of Vir- 
ginia, who settled in Kentucky and later (in 
1824) in Decatur county, Indiana, where he 
took up public land and made it a good and 
productive farm. He was a minister of the 
Baptist church and as such organized the 
first church in Decatur county, within the 
boundaries of w^hich he preached for sixty- 
eight years. He was one of the leaders in 
his denomination in eastern Indiana and the 
good which resulted from his long service 
as a preacher and as an evangelist can never 
be estimated. As a citizen he demonstrated 
that he possessed every commendable char- 



acteristic and principle and he won the con- 
fidence of his fellow citizens in a remarka- 
ble degree. Politically he w-as a Democrat. 
He died July 7, 1865, aged seventy-nine, 
and his wife died October 12, 1859, aged 
sixty-eight. Their children were Mary 
(Mrs. William Goodwin), Elizabeth (Mrs. 
Alexander Porter), Jane (Mrs. S. Porter), 
Martha (Mrs. E. Goodwin), Rebecca (Mrs. 
William McCormick), Andrew (dead) and 
Asenath (who married Peter Martin and is 
the only one of her father's children living). 
To Alexander and Elizabeth (Elder) Porter 
were born two children, — Matthew E., and 
Asenath, who died wdien three years old. 

Matthew E. Porter remained at his par- 
ental home until after the death of both his 
parents. His father died September 9, 
1 89 1, aged ninety-two, and his mother died 
October 22, 1893, aged eighty years. In 
1857 he married and settled on his father's 
old homestead. In 1892 he bought a farm 
adjoining that place and built upon it a 
large and elegant house in which he has 
since lived, and a fine barn, besides remodel- 
ing most of the other buildings. He now 
owns two hundred and sixty-five acres. He 
has given his attention to general farming 
and to raising, feeding and dealing in stock. 
A Democrat in politics, he has never aspired 
to political life, Init is not without influence 
in the councils of his party. He was one of 
the organizers and has for five years been 
secretary of the Farmers' Insurance Com- 
pany, a local concern of high standing which 
does a large and safe home business on ag- 
ricultural risks only. 

Mr. Porter married Miss Rebecca Mc- 
Kinney, a native of Orange county, Indiana, 
l)orn February 20, 1836, a daughter of John 
and Martha (Van Cleave) McKinney, na- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



331 



tives of Kentucky and early settlers in Indi- 
ana, where Mr. McKinney achieved success 
as a farmer and where they both lived out 
their days. They were devout and active 
nu'inbcrs (if the Presbyterian church and 
.Mr. .McKinney was an earnest Republican, 
though he never aspired to political prefer- 
ment. Their children were James (a farm- 
er). Sarah J. (Mrs. J. Porter), William R. 
(dead). Margaret (unmarried), Elizabeth 
(Mrs. William Goddard). Reliecca (Mrs. 
Mattlu-w I'.. Porter), l^niily (.Mrs. John 
i'uls) and Martha (who died young). To 
Matthew and Ivcbccca (McKinney) Porter 
have been born children named as follows: 
.Mexandcr, who is the proprietor of a plan- 
ing-mill and lunil)er-yar(l at (ireensburg, 
Indiana; John, who died in 1S93, aged 
twenty-nine years; William, who is a part- 
ner with Alexander; .Martha, who married 
J. McConnell; Elizabeth, who died at the 
age of eleven years; James, who lives at 
Greensburg, Indiana; and .\ndrew. Barton 
and Edward, who are members of their 
father's household. It is somewhat re- 
markable that these children were all born 
in the house in which their father was born 
and rocked in the same cradle in which he 
was rocked when an infant. Mr. Porter is 
a i'>a|)tist and Mrs. i'orter is a Presbyterian. 



CRETH J. LOYD. 



Creth J. Loyd. one of the enterprising 
young business men of Greensburg. was 
bom in that city December 4, 1872. He 
attended school in his native place until 
about thirteen years old. and from that time 
until 1893 was associated with his father in 
the poultry business. In that year the lat- 
ter sold a one-half interest to Charles 



Zoller, Jr., and the firm was known as 
Loyd &: Zoller. This partnership contin- 
ued until Creth J. purchased the interest of 
Mr. Zoller, his father having retired from the 
business. lie carried on the establishment 
alone until 1898. when he took a partner, 
William Brune, and the firm became C. J. 
Loyd & Company. 

The business of this company consists 
principally in the shipment of poultry to 
Xew York, Boston and Philadelphia, but 
they incidentally handle butter and eggs. 
They cni])loy from twenty-live to thirty 
men during the winter season, and own 
fourteen huckster wagons. which go 
through the couiUry and gather up the 
]iroduce in which they deal. Their business 
amounts to about one hundred thousand 
dollars annually. Mr. Loyd is an expert in 
his line, being thoroughly posted in every- 
thing pertaining to it. Such extensive 
dealers as John Corell and George Brown, 
of New York city, and Prank Littlefield. of 
Boston, confer with him in regard to future 
crops of turkeys, ducks and chickens and 
their probable ])rices. 

Mr. Loyd has an enviable reptUation as a 
business man of strict integrit\- and fair 
dealing, and with his ]Hish and unlimited 
perseverance and industry is bound to suc- 
ceed in life. He is a Republican in politics, 
and takes an interest in local afifairs, though 
he is too busy to care for holding office. He 
is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 
With A. Goyert, he is joint manager of the 
Grand opera-house at Greensburg. 

Mr. Loyd was united in marriage. No- 
vember 14. 1894. to Miss Wilhelmina 
Brune, of Greensburg, and two chiltlrcn 
have been born to them. Lilian, deceased, 
and Frank L. 



332 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



The parents of our subject were Joseph 
H. and Margaret E. (Mowrer) Loyd. The 
former was born in Decatur county, Indi- 
ana, near Greensburg, December 25, 
1841, a son of Creth J. and Phoebe 
Ann (EngHsh) Loyd. His grandfather, 
WilHam Loyd, came from Kentucky 
to Decatur county in 1820 and settled 
southeast of Greensburg, on a tract of gov- 
ernment land. He eventually became a 
large land-owner and accumulated a hand- 
some fortune. He was a member of the 
Baptist church, and prominent in his com- 
munity. He was twice married. His first 
wife was a Miss Polter, who bore him six 
children, five sons and one daughter. He 
was a second time married. 

The father of Joseph H. Loyd was born 
May 29, 1817, in Kentucky, and was only 
three years old when his father's family re- 
moved to Decatur county, Indiana, where 
he spent the remainder of his life. He was 
a plasterer by trade, but spent most of his 
time in farming. In the latter part of his 
life he became a dealer in poultry, shipping 
largely to New York and other eastern 
markets, and did an extensive business. His 
death took place in January, 1885. Mr. 
Loyd was an ardent Republican and took 
a great interest in local politics, but never 
ran for ofifice. He was brought up in the 
Baptist faith, Init afterward united with the 
Methodist church. He was three times 
married, his first wife being Phoel)e Ann 
English, who became the mother of two 
sons and four daughters, all of whom are 
deceased except Joseph H., and Mrs. Re- 
becca E. Straight, of Denver, Colorado. 
The wife and mother died in 1856. and Mr. 
Lovd then married Nancy Walker. Three 
children were born of this union, of whom 



]Mrs. Delia Dille is the only survivor. His 
third wife was Mary English. 

Joseph H. Loyd was a lad of ten years 
when his father settled at Greensburg, and 
he has always made his home in that city. 
He learned the trade of a plasterer and fol- 
lowed it for several years. In 1885 he suc- 
ceeded his father in the poultry business, 
continuing in the same until 1893, when he 
in turn handed over the business to his son. 
In 1897 he was appointed street commis- 
sioner, and is now (1899) holding that of- 
fice. He was for ten years a member of the 
city council, representing the first ward, 
and is prominent in the Republican party 
of his county. He is a worthy member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church at Greens- 
i.)urg. Socially Mr. Loyd is a member of 
Greensburg Lodge, No. 103, I. O. O. F., 
and of the G. A. R. 

Mr. Loyd was married in 1861, to Mar- 
garet E. Mowrer, who was born in Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. Her parents were Philip and 
Sarah Mowrer, who were natives of Penn- 
sylvania and Maryland respectively. They 
came to Indiana in 1833, and settled in Salt 
Creek township, Decatur county, where 
they lived until 1861. then removing to 
Greensburg, where the mother died Janu- 
ary, 1891, and the father March 14, 1896. 
The latter was a Republican, and served two 
terms, from 1861 to 1864, as sheriff of De- 
catur county, and was assessor of Salt Creek 
township for four years and of Washington 
township for eight years. He was a promi- 
nent member of the First Methodist Epis- 
copal church at Greensburg, in which he 
was class-leader for a number of years. For 
fifty years Mr. Mowrer was a member of the 
Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities, hav- 
ing filled all the chairs in the latter order; 



DECATUR COUNTY 



333 



was a Royal Arch Mason, and belonged to 
other organizations. He held a high rank 
in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and was 
a man of tine ciiaracter. 



AUCiL'ST (iOVEKT. 

August Goyert. a well known citizen of 
Greensburg and an extensive dealer in poul- 
try, butter and eggs, was born at Batesville, 
Ripley county, Indiana, July 28, 1864. He 
is the son of John H. and Lena (Sitterding) 
Goyert, natives of Germany, the former be- 
ing born in the pro\incc of Hanover, near 
the city of Hamburg, and the latter at Os- 
nabruck. 

The father of Mr. Goyert came to the 
United States when a lad of fifteen and for 
a number of years made his home at New- 
Orleans, where he was employed on various 
steamboats. He afterward settled at Al- 
ton. Illinois, and was living there when the 
first railroad through that city was built. 
From Alton he went to St. Louis and was 
for several years engaged in the confection- 
ery business. His next location was in 
Cincinnati, where he bought and sold 
horses. In 1864 he removed to Batesville. 
Ripley county. Indiana, where he purchased 
land and also engaged in general merchan- 
dising. In 1891 he retired from active 
business and will spend the remainder of his 
days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his 
industry anfl good management. He is a 
leading member of the Lutheran church 
and is liberal in the support of its work. 
Seven children were born to this worthy 
couple, six sons and one daughter. 

August Goyert spent his younger days in 
Batesville and Cincimiati. and ct)mpleteil 



his education at Nelson's Business College, 
in the latter city, from which he was gradu- 
ated in 1884. During his summer vaca- 
tions he was employed in a i)roduce com- 
mission house in Cincinnati. In 1884 he 
started at Batesville a grocery and meat 
market, which he carried on for three years, 
and at the same time operated the Willow 
Springs Creamery. In 1887 he took charge 
of the Langtry Valley Flouring Mills, 
which he ran until 1890, when he started the 
Bates\ille Candy Company, owning a nice 
little plant. In 1893 he embarked in the 
produce business, under the firm name of 
Goyert & Vogel. continuing thus for four 
years, when he bought out his partner and 
has since conducted the business alone. He 
deals entirely in poultry, butter and eggs, 
employing a number of people in the store 
and on the road. He ships to Boston and 
New York, sending from one to two car- 
loads a week and doing an annual business 
of from seventy-five thousand to one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

Mr. Goyert was a member of the city 
council for two terms in Batesville. He is 
a member of Lodge No. 255, K. of P., and 
Greensburg Lodge, No. 475, B. P. O. E. 
In connection with C. J. Loyd, he is man- 
ager of the Grand opera-house. Mr. Goy- 
ert is an energetic, live business man. and 
l^opular with all who know him. He was 
married May 2. 1885. to Mi.ss Louise Bind- 
er, of Batesville, Indiana, and they have 
three children living. 



JAMES M. WOODFILL. 

I'or more than a half century James M. 
W'oodfill has been a resident of Greensburg. 
comiected with its conunercial. educational, 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



political and social advancement. He is 
distinctively American in thought and feel- 
ing, and has aided in developing at this 
place a typical American city, whose prog- 
ress and enterprise are worthy of the spirit 
of the west. For many years he was a 
prominent factor in the business life of the 
place, and when his consecutive and well 
directed labors had brought to him a hand- 
some competence he retired to private life, 
and is now enjoying the fruits of his former 
toil. 

y\r. ^^'oodfill was born in Greensburg, 
August 31, 1841, his parents being Gabriel 
and Elizabeth (Van Pelt) W^oodfill. The 
history of the ancestry of the family appears 
in connection with that of \\'. S. Woodfill 
on another page of this work. Under the 
parental roof James M. Woodfill passed his 
boyhood days, his time being occupied with 
various minor duties, with the work of the 
school-room and with the amusements 
which delighted the boys of that period. 
From an early age he was employed in his 
father's large general store and there be- 
came familiar with business methods, gain- 
ing a good practical experience which well 
fitted him for his own successful career as a 
merchant in later life. On the ist of Janu- 
ary, 1863, his father retired and was suc- 
ceeded by his three sons, John, \\'illiam and 
James, under the firm name of Woodfill 
Brothers. Our subject was then connected 
with the business until January i, 1883. 
when he sold his interest. He had been an 
active factor in securing the success which 
attended the enterprise, for he is a man of 
keen discrimination, of sound judgment and 
of indefatigable energy. 

For six vears Mr. Woodfill was connected 
with no active business interests, but in 



1889 he again entered the field of merchan- 
dising, as a dealer in clothing and men's 
furnishing goods. Prosperity attended the 
new undertaking, and a liberal patronage 
was soon secured. Mr. Woodfill remained 
at the head of the business until 1897, when 
he retired, being succeeded by his sons, 
^^'illiam C., Charles M. and James V., un- 
der the firm style of J. M. Woodfill's Sons. 
They are now conducting a first-class cloth- 
ing establishment and have a large trade, 
extending over a wide section of the county. 
They are very fair and reliable in all their 
dealings and are courteous and progressive 
business men, who well deserve the success 
which is attending their efforts. They 
occupy spacious and well appointed rooms 
on the south side of the public square, and 
the firm are ranked among the leading 
business representatives of the city. 

Mr. Woodfill exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures 
of the Republican party, of which he is a 
stalwart advocate. He does all in his power 
to promote the growth and insure the suc- 
cess of his party, nor has he sought of^cial 
preferment as a reward for his services. He 
belongs to the First Methodist Episcopal 
church, and is a member of its ofificial board. 
He has labored earnestly in behalf of the 
church, and his work has proved most 
beneficial. Socially he is a valued repre- 
sentative of Greensburg Lodge, I. O. O. F. 

April 6, 1869, Mr. Woodfill was united in 
marriage to Miss Margaret Cones, a daugh- 
ter of Robert Cones, of Greensburg, and to 
them have been born four sons: ^^'illianl 
C, who married Elizabeth Donnell and is 
the senior partner of the firm of J. M. 
Woodfill's Sons; Charles ]\I., who married 
Pearl Kitchin, and is a member of the firm; 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



335 



James V.. wIki is a i>artnor in the enterprise, 
and Rol)ert. a stiuient in ihe high school. 
Tlie family is one of prominence in the 
community, and its representatives enjoy 
the hospitality of the best homes in Greens- 
burg. James M. W'oodfill is a i)ublic-spirit- 
ed and progressive citizen, deeply interested 
in the welfare and improvement of his na- 
tive town, county and state, withholding his 
support from no movement whicii he be- 
lieves will ])rove of ])iil)Iic good. He earned 
for himself an enviable reputation as a care- 
ful man of business, and was always known 
for his prompt and honorable methods of 
dealing, which won him the deserved and 
unbounded confidence of his fellow men. 
He is pleasant and agreeable in manner, is 
popular with all whom he has met, and has 
the happy faculty of inspiring strong friend- 
ships. 



M.VKSIIAI.I. (ikdVER. 

Marshall Grover, a member of the firm of 
Grover & Bonner, of Greensburg, is one of 
the most popular and enterprising mer- 
chants of this flourishing town. About 
half a century has rolled away since he en- 
tered upon his successful business career 
here, and everyone with whom he has had 
dealings during this long period speaks of 
him in the highest terms. 

.\ son of Ira and Elizabeth (Glanton) 
Grover. our subject, was born in Union 
county, Indiana, in September, 1830. His 
parents were among the early settlers of 
.southeastern Indiana, and each lived to at- 
tain the age of over four-score years. 
When he was eight years old Marshall 
Grover removed with the family to Greens- 
burg, which he has since looked upon as his 



home. Such education as he accpiired was 
obtained in the connnon schools of his boy- 
hood, which, as everybody knows, were of a 
very poor character. .\ keen power of ob- 
servation and the benefits of private read- 
ing and the e.xperience which comes with 
advancing years, however, rendered him 
well qualified to meet the battles of life. 

In 1847 Mr. Grover accepted a position 
as a clerk in a dry-goods store in this place, 
and in 183O. having proved his ability, he 
was taken into the firm on a partnership 
basis. He continued to devote his whole 
attention to his cho.sen work until the war 
of the Rebellion came on. Entering the 
volunteer army, he was made paymaster's 
clerk, and so efificiently served that he was 
ajipointed paymaster, by President Lincoln, 
in 1863. He continued to serve at various 
stations and in the field until 1866, when he 
was honorably mustered out. with the bre- 
\et rank of lieutenant-colonel. Then, after 
a period, during which he was interested in 
the hardware business in this town, he was 
appointed, in 1871, to a position in the 
United States internal-revenue service. 

Since 1872 Mr. Grover has conducted a 
retail drug store in Greensburg, special lines 
of books, wall-paper, paint, oil, window- 
glass and similar articles also being kept in 
excellent variety. His store is centrally 
located, is modern in style and fitting, and 
is tastefully decorated. .\ large and re- 
munerative patronage is enjoyed by the 
])artners, who spare neither pains nor ex- 
pense in their desire to please their custom- 
ers. Mr. Grover is a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, and always has taken an 
active part in public affairs. 

In June, 1871. Mr. Grover was united in 
marriage to Miss Anna Cook, then a resi- 



336 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



dent of this place, but formerly of New Jer- 
sey. Two children were born to them, but 
both have entered the silent land. Mr. and 
Mrs. Grover have a handsome residence, 
situated in the midst of beautiful, well kept 
grounds, at the corner of East street and 
Central avenue. The house, which is of 
modern architecture, is constructed of brick, 
and is two stories in height. 

Hon. Ira G. Grover, youngest brother of 
our subject, was born December 26, 1832, 
in Brownsville, Union county, and from 
1838 until his death, in 1876, his home was 
almost continuously in Greensburg. From 
his youth up it was seen that he possessed 
unusual ability and talents, and in the wun- 
mer of 1856 he was graduated in Asbury 
University, at Greencastle, Indiana, with 
the highest honors of his class. Returning 
home, he became interested in teaching, and 
for a few years divided his attention be- 
tween that calling and the study of law. In 
i860 he was the Republican nominee for 
the lower house of the state legislature, and 
was elected by a large majority. He served 
in both the regular session of the following 
winter and in the special session called at 
the breaking out of the civil war, in the 
spring of 1861. When the Seventh Indi- 
ana Infantry responded to the three-months 
call for volunteers, Mr. Grover was elected 
first lieutenant of Company B, and when the 
regiment was ordered to the front, in May, 
he resigned his seat in the legislature, and 
for four years was found faithfully follow- 
ing the fortunes of his command. In 1866 
he was the Republican nominee (against 
hopeless odds) for congress, but he was 
elected clerk of the Decatur circuit court 
in 1867 and re-elected in 1871. Soon after 
his second election his health began to fail, 



for the wounds, exposure and ill treatment 
which he had received while a prisoner in 
the hands of the enemy, had gradually un- 
dermined his strength. All that the tender 
care of friends could do was in vain, and his 
life came to a quiet and peaceful close. He 
had married Kate, daughter of Hiram Wall- 
ingford, December 26, 1871, and she sur- 
\ived him onlv a few months. 



EDGAR N. MENDENHALL. 

Prominent among the educators of Indi- 
ana is Professor Edgar Mendenhall, who is 
principal of th» high school in Greensburg. 
The importance of the different professions 
has been variously estimated, but all agree 
that that of the teacher ranks first among 
those to which men have directed their en- 
ergies. Not only must his own knowledge 
be extensive and exact, but he must have 
the power of imparting readily and clearly 
to others that which he has acquired, mak- 
ing his themes both interesting and instruc- 
tive. Upon the proper mental development 
in youth often depends the success of life. 
The ability of mental concentration, of keen 
discernment and close application then 
gained are important factors in the work-a- 
day world and, whether in commercial, in- 
dustrial or professional life, are indispensa- 
ble concomitants to a successful career. 
With a just appreciation and realization of 
the importance of the labors of the edu- 
cator, Professor Mendenhall has carefully 
prepared himself for his chosen life-work 
and to-day occupies a leading position 
among the educators of this section of Indi- 
ana. 

Edgar Nelson Mendenhall is one of the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



native sons of the Hoosier state, his birth 
Iiaving occurred near Greensburg, on the 
lOth of September, 1872. His preliminary 
education was acquired in the ])nlilic 
schools near liis home, and later he pursued 
a course in the Franklin high school, in 
whicli institution he was graduated in 1890, 
when eighteen years of age. Later he con- 
tinued his studies in Franklin College, in 
the State University, at Bloomington, Indi- 
ana, and then within the classic walls of old 
Harvard. He began his career as a teacher 
in 1890, upon his graduation from the high 
school, and since that time has followed his 
chosen vocation through the winter 
months, spending the summer season in 
studying either at home or in some of the 
institutions of learning mentioned. He is 
a man of l)road and scholarly attainments, 
and his mental acquirements give him pres- 
tige in educational circles. 

.\fter teaching for tliree years in the dis- 
trict schools he spent two years as principal 
at Letts Corner, this country, and in 1895 
came to Green.sburg as assistant professor 
in the high school. In 1897. when Profes- 
sor Shannon, city superintendent of schools, 
died. Professor Roberts, principal of the 
high school, was promoted to that position 
and Professor Mendenhall was appointed to 
the place which he now occupies. He 
makes a specialty of English and history 
and is the possessor of one of the best gen- 
eral libraries of the state. Socially he is 
connected with the Knights of Pythias fra- 
ternity, and in his religious belief is Pre.sby- 
teriaii. He is an entertaining conversa- 
tionalist and a gentleman of pleasing man- 
ners and courteous deportment, and is very 
popular, occupying a leading position in so- 
cial circles where true worth and intelli- 



gence are received as a passport into good 
society. He is a man of high intellectuality 
and imbued with fine sensibilities and clear- 
ly defined principles. Honor and integrity 
are synonymous with his name. Me enjoys 
the respect and esteeiii and confidence of all 
j who know him. and the future undoubtedly 
holds in store for him still higher honors. 



JOHN M. REDIXGTON. 

This has been often referred to as "the 
age of self-made men." All ages have 
presented opportunities to men who have 
had the ability to do something for others 
and make something of themselves; and 
doing something useful for others has al- 
ways been the surest way to personal suc- 
cess. The men who make themselves are, 
individually and in the aggregate, the 
builders up of enterprises which have ad- 
vanced the interests of the whole people, 
and every man who does something for 
himself is more of a factor in the general 
prosperity than he ever dreams. Indiana 
and Decatur county have had their self- 
made men in every decade since their iiis- 
tory began, and at this time there is not a 
more worthy representative of the class in 
the county than the man whose name is 
above. 

John M. Redington, assessor of Washing- 
ton township, Decatur county, Indiana, and 
one of the representative farmers of that 
county, was born at Greensburg, this coun- 
ty, September 8, 1854, a son of Alonzo and 
Catherine Doles Redington. His father 
was a native of JefTerson county, Indiana, 
and his mother was born in Decatur county. 
Alonzo Redington's father was John Red- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ington, wlio came to Indiana from New 
England at an early day and died there 
aged ninety-eight, after having lived the life 
of a plain, honest farmer, a man always 
ready to render unto any man his due and 
never seeking undue advantage in any deal, 
however trivial or however important. His 
children were named as follows, in the order 
of their birth: John, who is living in the 
west; Jacob (dead), Frank (dead), Alonzo, 
father of the subject of this sketch (who is 
a resident of Washington township), Dan- 
iel (dead), Jane (Mrs. P. Hart), Hattie 
(Mrs. J. Pemberton), Mary (Mrs. H. Ro- 
zelle) and Elizabeth (Mrs. M. Perry). 

Alonzo Redington, father of John M. 
Redington, was born in 1818 and grew to 
manhood in Jefferson county, Indiana, and 
there he received his education in the pub- 
lic schools. He came, while yet a young 
man, to Decatur county and worked at the 
stone-mason's trade, and later located on a 
farm. "His first wife (Catherine, nee Doles) 
died in 1866, and for a time his family was 
broken u]). He married his second wife in 
1871. She died and he has since married 
again and his third wife is dead. He 
worked at his trade until too old to follow 
it longer and now has a home with a daugh- 
ter. He is a consistent member of the Bap- 
tist church and his influence has always 
been on the side of patriotism, morality and 
justice. Some interesting facts concerning 
his children follow: His daughter Sarah, 
his eldest child, married S. Graham. Henry, 
his oldest son, served in the cause of the 
Union in our civil war and lost an arm in 
battle. After he returned home he ac- 
c(uired a good education, his preparation 
for l)usiness life having lieen interrupted by 
his enlistment; and later he was elected to 



the ofifice of sherillf of Decatur county, but 
died before the beginning of the term of 
service for which he was chosen, leaving a 
widow and two children. Mary, deceased, 
was Mrs. W. Boyce. Marinda died unmar- 
ried. Melissa is Mrs. W. H. Perry. John 
M. is the immediate subject of this sketch. 
Isaac is. achieving success as a farmer. Anna 
married J. W. Doles. Ellen is Mrs. Will- 
iam Springer, and her home claims the 
aged father of this ver_\' respectable family 
as one of its most cherished inmates. 

Catherine (Doles) Redington, mother of 
John M. Redington, died when he was only 
twelve years old, and the boy was, through 
stress of circumstances, cast upon the world 
to look out for himself. E\-en at this ten- 
der age he was not found wanting in manly 
self-reliance. He found employment with 
a nurseryman for three years and from the 
time he was fifteen until he attained his ma- 
jority worked on a farm. His services had 
not been so well paid that he possessed any 
capital worth mentioning, Init he managed 
to possess himself of a team and now began 
the struggle of life independently at team- 
ing and farming. For ten years he was 
thus employed. Then he engaged in the 
manufacture of tile, a business which he 
continued for fourteen years. Pie made 
money and during the time purchased his 
present farm of one hundred and ninety-two 
acres, now mostly cleared and in a good 
state of cultivation. He came to this place 
in 1896 and has since done much to improve 
and beautify it and increase its value and 
productiveness. .\t this time he is remodel- 
ing his house, which when finished will be 
one of the best and most attractive in its 
vicinity. 

Mr. Redington is a self-made man who 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



339 



owes his success entirely to his own efforts. 
He has proven himself a capable business 
man, of good nioti\es and credital^le meth- 
ods, and those who know how he has 
won his success know that he deserves it 
because it has been achieved fairly and 
above board in the broadest sense of those 
sometimes abused terms. Politically he is 
a Republican, earnest and active in the sup- | 
port of Republican principles. He has been 
elected the assessor of Washing-ton town- 
ship, in which office he is now filling out his 
fourth year to the entire satisfaction of all 
concerned. 

The lady who became the wife of Mr. 
Redington was Miss Elizabeth Hopper, a 
member of one of the pioneer families of 
Ripley county. Indiana, and a wfinian of 
many attractions and graces of heart and 
mind. She is a daughter of Barnabas and 
Martha ("Bates) Hopper, natives of Jeffer- 
son county, Indiana. Her father served his 
country in our civil war until honorably dis- 
charged for disability. He was a successful 
farmer and an enthusiastic Republican who 
liked to think that he voted as he shot, and 
always tried to do so with what he believed 
was the truest aim. He never aspired to 
office, however. He was a consistent and 
helpful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. His death occnrrc.l in i8Si. His 
widow survived until i8()5. Their children 
were: John (dead), Elizabeth (wife of John 
M. Redington). George (dead), Deborah 
(Mrs. T. Cook, now dead), Silas (dead) and 
Charles (dead). Mr. and Mrs. Redington 
have six children, none of whom have as yet 
left their roof-tree and whom they named 
as follows in the order of their nativity: 
Flora, Grover, Jessie. Charles. Ethel and 
Lillie. Mrs. Redington is a Methodist. 



alive to every interest of the church and lib- 
eral in support of all its work. Mr. Red- 
ington is a Mason and an Odd fellow. 



FR.VXK R. ROBBINS. 

The man whcjse name is above is a repre- 
sentative of the best .\merican stock. His 
family had its representative in the Revolu- 
tionary war and has been patriotic and pro- 
gressive in every generation since. He is 
of a family of pioneers which has made its 
impress on the civilization of the east, the 
south and the west. 

The sul)ject of this sketch is a son of John 
E. and Nancy (Hunter) Robbins. John E 
Robbins was a son of W^illiam and Eleanor 
(.Anderson) Robbins. The father of Will- 
iam Robbins came from England to Penn- 
sylvania at an early date, served the cause 
of the colonies as a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary war and afterward located in Vir- 
ginia, where his children were born. Dur- 
ing the period of the early settlement of 
Kentucky he located there, where he was a 
gunsmith, blacksmith and farmer until his 
children were reared and ready to take up 
the battle of life on their own account. 
Some of them came to Indiana and there the 
father joined them about 1828. He took 
up eighty acres of land and improved it and 
lived on it until his death, which occurred 
in 1834. and he is buried near the John Rob- 
bins homestead. He was a plain, honest 
man, blunt and straightforward, with a 
high standard of morality and integrity, in 
religion a Baptist, in ])olitics a Whig. He 
married Rethiah Robbins. a widow not 
even indirectly related to him. who was 
born December i. 1760, and who had two 



340 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



sons, Ab and Benjamin, who were reared 
by their stepfather. The following facts 
concerning his own children will ht found 
interesting: 

Elizabeth became Mrs. J. Watkins. 
Alarmaduke and Jacob were twins. Mary 
became Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Nathaniel. John 
and William were younger sons. Charlotte 
became Mrs. Anderson. Dosia married J. 
Herron. All of the children of the pioneer 
and his worthy wife came to Indiana. Abel 
and Benjamin Robbins, Mrs. Robbins's sons 
by her former marriage, remained behind 
and Abel lived and died in Kentucky, and 
Benjamin removed to Tennessee and there 
lived out his allotted time. 

John Robbins was the first of all the fam- 
ily to come to Indiana. He came in 1821 
and Marmaduke in 1823. William, who 
was six years old when his father moved 
from Virginia to Kentucky, was reared and 
began his active life there. He entered 
land in Indiana in 1821 and in 1823 married 
and moved upon it. He had borrowed 
money to enter his land and at the time he 
came to Indiana had paid half of the amount 
and had no money in hand for present 
needs. He had a team and wagon, how- 
ever, and brought along a few cattle, hogs 
and shee]). He was a true pioneer and 
overcame numerous obstacles, not the least 
of which was his moving, for he was obliged 
at times to cut his way through the forest 
and to make long detours to cross streams. 
He first made a comfortable camp, then 
erected a log cabin, and he lost no time in 
putting under cultivation as much land as 
possible. It was not long before his pio- 
neer home was self-supporting. He grew 
wool and raised flax, and his wife spun and 
wove and made clothing. He became suc- 



cessful as a general farmer and stock-raiser. 
He was not of a speculative turn of mind 
and had no thought of accumulating money 
except by honest labor and safe and wise 
management of his affairs. He foniied a 
definite plan to buy land, but made a rule 
that he would ne\er buy until he could pay. 
As he was able to do so he bought land 
from time to time and he gave to each of 
his children at marriage a home farm of 
eighty acres. At the same time he reserved 
a homestead of one hundred and twenty 
acres for the one who should care for him 
and his wife in their declining years. He 
was born .Vugust 5, 1797, and died Septem- 
ber II, 1854. He was a Whig and an abo- 
litionist and had he lived he would have af- 
filiated with the Republican party. It was 
because he abhorred slavery that he left 
Kentucky and took up his residence in a 
free state. He was a charitable and helpful 
man who won the gratitude of many of his 
fellows. He despised all dishonesty and 
held liars in the most profound contempt. 
Eleanor Anderson, who became his wife, 
was a daughter of James Anderson and was 
born in Virginia, July 5, 1797. Her father 
and his family removed to Kentucky at an 
early day, making the journey down the 
Ohio by a flat-boat to a jioint on the Ken- 
tucky shore below Cincinnati. Locating in 
Henry county, Kentucky, near the Rob- 
binses, he followed agricultural pursuits 
there during the remainder of his life. His 
children were as follows: Isaac, James, 
Ruth (who married John Robbins), Eleanor 
(who married William Robbins), Nancy 
Cwho became Mrs. W. White), Wesley and 
Sarah. All except Wesley and Sarah re- 
moved to Indiana. The children of Will- 
iam and Eleanor (Anderson) Robbins were 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



341 



l)orn in the following order: Sarelda R. j 
married W. Stires. John E. will be referred I 
to more at length further on. \\'illiam M. 
died young. James X. is a prominent farm- ! 
er and breeder of tine cattle in Decatur j 
county, Indiana. Merritt li. is dead. | 

John E. Robbins, grandson of the pio- 
neer, son of William Robbins and father of 
Frank R. Robbins, was born in Decatur 
county, Indiana, and was a member of his 
father's family until his marriage, which oc- 
curred November 7, 1844. He then settled 
on a small tract of land given him by his 
father, but was without means to improve 
it or to begin farming. He found employ- 
ment during the succeeding winter at 
school teaching, at ten dollars a month, and 
was thus enabled to put in some crops the 
following spring. This circumstance is 
given as an index to his character. He was 
a determined, resourceful man and he not 
only prospered but became one of the most 
prominent financiers of eastern Indiana. 
Far-sighted beyond most men anrl with an 
unerring business instinct, he made a suc- 
cess of every enterprise he undertook, and 
he made for himself a name and place in 
local history which reflects the greatest 
credit upon his enterprise and his business 
methods. From the time of his school- 
teaching venture he accumulated constant- 
ly and more and more rapidly as the years 
went on. He lived on his original small 
farm until 1858, when he was enabled to 
buy one hundred and sixty acres a mile 
south of Greensburg. which was his home- 
stead during the remainder of his life. He 
added to this place by subsequent pur- 
chases until it comprised eight hundred and 
si.xty-three acres and bought about three 
thousand acres in other tracts. His landed 



possessions constituted only a portion of his 
wealth. He began early in his career to 
raise and feed stock, and his operations 
grew so extensive that he handled more 
hogs than all other dealers in the county 
combined, with feeding and stock yards at 
Lawrenceburg and elsewhere and extensive 
slaughter houses at Greensburg. He 
looked carefully after his own large interests 
and was public-si)irited to a marked degree, 
his interest in the development of the 
county inducing him to take a foremost 
l)lace in the promotion of such public en- 
terprises as turnpikes, railroads and banks. 
He was first to agitate pike roads in Deca- 
tur county, and was president of the Ver- 
non, Greensburg & Rushville Pike Road 
Company, and was largely instrumental in 
making the road a success. As a means to 
this end he advocated and secured the 
assessment of a ta.x, of which he paid more 
than any other man in Decatur county. He 
originated the Third National Bank of 
Greensburg, which began business January, 
1883, with John E. Robbins as president 
and C. Ewing as cashier. By his enterprise 
and great business ability this bank assumed 
the foremost place among the banking in- 
stitutions of this part of the state. It now 
has a capital of seventy-five thousand dollars 
and a surplus of eighteen thousand dollars, 
with de])osits amounting to four hundred 
and thirty thousand dollars. He was a di- 
rector in other Greensburg banks and was 
from time to time identified prominently 
and helpfully with other important enter- 
prises. His sound judgment was sought in 
matters of public moment, and in order to 
secure his eminent financial ability for De- 
catur county he was called to the office of 
commissioner, in which he served with the 



342 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



greatest credit. He loved his home and 
improved and beautified it in many ways, 
continuing this work to the time of his 
death, July 22, 1896. 

Nancy Hunter, his wife, was born in 
Ohio, December 8, 1826, a daughter of Na- 
thaniel and Elizabeth (Fares) Hunter. Her 
parents were natives of Germany, but were 
married in Ohio and bought their house- 
keeping outfit at Cincinnati, purchasing the 
entire stock of dishes of the only store in 
the town at that time which kept such 
goods. In 1827 they removed to Franklin 
county, Indiana, where Mr. Hunter took up 
and improved land which he sold to good 
advantage ten years later. At that time 
(1837) he entered a large tract of land in 
Decatur county and began the improvement 
of what turned out to be a fine farm. Late 
in life he retired to Greensburg, where he 
died at the age of ninety-seven, his wife sur- 
viving him and dying at the age of ninety- 
eight. He was a man of much enterprise 
and several times built flat-boats and loaded 
them with produce, which he sold in the 
markets of New Orleans, making the re- 
turn journey on foot. He also helped to 
construct the Whitewater canal. In poli- 
tics he was a strong Democrat of the old 
school, but he never sought or accepted of- 
fice. His children were named as follows: 
Ann E. (Mrs. Shaw), Rebecca (Mrs. Wal- 
lace), Stephenson (dead), Nathan, who lives 
in Greensburg, Nancy, mother of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, and Peter (dead). Fol- 
lowing are the names of the children of John 
E. Robbins: Sarelda B. (Mrs. Smiley), Min- 
erva J. (Mrs. Gilchrist), Nancy Ellen (Mrs. 
Kitchin), William, a farmer near Greens- 
burg: Clara (Mrs. Kitchin), John E., Olive 
(,Mrs. McCoy), Frank R. and Eliza (Mrs. 



Elder). Nancy (Hunter) Robbins, now in 
her seventieth year, is living on the home- 
stead, near Greensburg. 

Frank R. Robbins was born near where 
he now lives, October 29, 1866. He mar- 
ried in 1888 and settled on one of his fath- 
er's farms south of the homestead. Later 
he built his present large two-story brick 
house, a mile south of Greensburg, and is a 
successful farmer and stock-raiser. He 
married Miss Kate Sefton, daughter of 
Isaac and Mary (Myers) Sefton and a lady 
of high intelligence and culture, whose 
grandfather, William Sefton, was one of the 
pioneers and leading citizens of Decatur 
county. William Sefton was a son of Hen- 
ry Sefton, an ex-officer of the English army, 
who came to Ohio from Ireland and died of 
cholera in 1834. The children of Henry 
Sefton were named as follows, in the order 
of their birth: William, Henry, Maria 
(Mrs. Scott), Jane (Mrs. Hughes), Ellen 
(Mrs. Hungerford), and Sarah (Mrs. Bre- 
voort.) William married Catherine Shuck 
and settled as a farmer in Ohio, where 
five of his children were born. In 
1838 he came to Indiana and located in 
Decatur county on land entered by his 
father and cleared up and improved a farm 
which he cultivated successfully until his 
death in 1868. He was successful in a busi- 
ness way and added materially to his landed 
possessions by subsequent purchases. His 
wife, who was born in April, 1806, and died 
October 3, 1869, was a daughter of Michael 
Shuck, of German descent, from Pennsyl- 
vania, who located early in Butler county, 
Ohio, but came in his old age to the home 
of his daughter, in Indiana, where he died 
at the age of eighty-eight. Their children 
were Sarah (Mrs. Governor Bibbs of Ohio), 



DECATUR COUNTY 



Z\i 



Eliza (Mrs.A.Lawrence), Peggy (Mrs. Mul- 
holland), Hannah (Mrs. Shaw), Polly (Mrs. 
Hall), and Catherine (Mrs. Sefton), whose 
children were named as follows: Henry, 
Eliza (Mrs. Scott), Elizabeth (who died un- 
married), Michael. Isaac (father of the wife 
of the subject of this sketch), Edward, Mary 
(Mrs. Willis), Sarah (Mrs. Anderson) and 
William W. Their father was born Febru- 
ary 22, 1806, and died October 3. 1869. 
They were married in 1830. 

Isaac Sefton was reared in Decatur coun- 
ty. Indiana, and learned farming on his 
father's homestead, where he remained un- 
til he was twenty-eight years old. He mar- 
ried in 1865 and began farming on his own 
account. Upon the death of his father he 
inherited a part of the latter's estate, to 
which he has added by judicious purchases. 
He now owns three improved farms in De- 
catur county and one in Boone county 
and two houses in Cjreensburg, where he 
now lives retired from active life, wealth\' 
and iniluential qnd respected for the up- 
rightness of his character. For his wife he 
married Miss Mary E. Myers, a daughter 
of Thomas and Mahala (Braden) Mvers. 
Mr. Myers was of Pennsylvania Dutch ex- 
traction and was born in Rush county. Indi- 
ana. Mrs. Myers was born in Decatur 
county, Indiana, and they were married in 
1843. Thomas Myers died at Greensburg, 
Indiana, October 18. 1887. aged si.\ty-two. 
His wife, who survives him, aged seventy- 
two, was a daughter of Walter Braden. of 
Irish descent, who was born in 1797. reared 
in the United States, married in Kentucky 
and brought his wife, on horseback, to Indi- 
ana, where he died in 1876. she in 1855. i 
They had children who were named Mi- 
chael. John, Richard, lane (Mrs. RusscUV 



Linda and James. The children of Thomas 
and Mary E. (Braden) Myers were Mary 
E. (wife of Isaac Sefton), Robert W., Em- 
ma (Mrs. Gilmour), Morgan, Willard, Ne- 
vada (Mrs. W. S. Moore) and Maggie B. 
(Mrs. Scott). The children of Isaac and 
Mary (Myers) Sefton were Kate, born No- 
vember II, 1868, who married Frank R. 
Robbins; and Cora, born March 26, 1878, 
who married W'. H. Robbins. The children 
of Frank B. and Kate (Sefton) Robbins are 
Lelia, born June 18, 1889; and William, 
born December 17, 1890. Mrs. Robbins is 
a Methodist and a woman whose influence 
in the community is always for good. Mr. 
Robbins is an enterprising citizen, promi- 
nent in public affairs and personally very 
popular. He is a member of the Benevo- 
lent and Protective Order of Elks. 



PROF. WILUIAM P. SHANNON. A. M. 

Widely acknowledged as one of the fore- 
most educators and scientists of Indiana. 
Greensburg especially, of which place he 
was one of the leading citizens, feels that in 
the death of Professor William Pollock 
Shannon, an irreparable loss has been sus- 
tained. Heartfelt tributes to his personal 
worth and to his rare achievements came 
to his bereaved family from every part of 
the United States, leading educators and 
scientists uniting in praise of a career which 
was singularly jiure. earnest and progres- 
sive. 

The liirth of Professor ShaiuKni occurred 
upon his parents" homestead, near Spring 
Hill. Decatur county. October 31. 1847. 
and thus he had reached the half centurv 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



mark at the time of his demise, December 
1 6, 1897. His father, Thomas H. Shannon, 
a successful farmer, is deceased, but his 
widowed mother, Mrs. Mary (Mayne) Shan- 
non, still resides on the old homestead. 
There it was that the boyhood days of our 
subject passed, and the love w-hich he then 
formed for nature in her various manifes- 
tations never left him. He attended the 
district schools and later pursued higher 
studies under the preceptorship of J. C. 
Gregg, then principal of Richland Acad- 
emy, but now superintendent of the city 
schools of Brazil, Indiana. At the end of 
three years the young man entered the 
junior year at Miami University, where he 
made such an exceptionally creditable rec- 
ord that it has been said that no graduate 
of the institution, save \\'hitelaw Reid, sur- 
passed him in scholarship. His alma mater 
conferred upon him the degree of Master 
of Arts at the time of his graduation, June 
10, 1873. Many positions were open to 
him, but he eventually decided to accept 
the principalship of the Glendale high 
school, near Cincinnati, Ohio. Having 
made a success of this, he accepted a call 
to Greensburg and became principal of the 
high school here. Needless to say that he 
more than fulfilled the expectations of his 
most confident friends, and that a higher 
and better system of management was car- 
ried into efifect than had ever prevailed 
here before. It was not a surprise, there- 
fore, that he was elected to serve as super- 
intendent of the schools of Greensburg, in 
1882, after his return from Europe. As 
superintendent he continued to act until his 
useful career was untimely ended, and thus, 
in the two responsible of^ces named, he 
i:)la3'ed a noble, influential part for some 



twenty-three years. During that period our 
schools were rapidly advanced, until long 
ago they were ranked among the best in 
the state. 

But the grand work of Professor Shan- 
non was not narrowed to even this county, 
as he was a valued member of the State and 
National Teachers' Associations and was 
treasurer of the Indiana x\cademy of Sci- 
ence, and in innumerable ways came before 
the scientists and teachers of this land. 
Quotations from letters of a few of the emi- 
nent educators of the United States in re- 
gard to his standing will prove of interest 
to many of his old friends. David S. Jor- 
dan, president of Leland Stanford. Jr., Uni- 
versity (of California), said: "As a scientific 
man he had a high rank. His work was 
sound and accurate, and he had especial 
power in developing scientific methods in 
others. As a teacher he ranked with the 
best in the state. He was accurate and 
thorough on the one hand, and sympathet- 
ic and helpful on the other. As a man he 
was above reproach, and was to me one of 
the most valued of all my friends in Indi- 
ana." Francis M. Stalker, editor of the 
Inland Educator, wrote: "I regard Pro- 
fessor Shannon as one of the best men in 
the state. He certainly had some advanced 
ideas in regard to nature study in the 
schools. I ha\e thought many times that 
the boys and girls at Greensburg had a 
large opportunity in having Mr. Shannon 
to show them how to see things. His ideas 
were practical and full of common sense." 

Professor Shannon made for himself a 
lasting place in the domain of scientific re- 
search into the realm of nature in his native 
county. C. H. Eigenmann, the professor 
of zoology in the Indiana University (which 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



345 



institution conferred upon our subject the 
degree of Master of Arts), wrote to the be- 
reaved relatives, among other things, the 
following: "\V. P. Shannon was a genial, 
earnest man. The papers he read before the 
Indiana .Academy showed him to be a close 
and interested observer of the things about 
him. He was interested in many branches 
of natural history. He won the esteem of 
all of his associates in the academy, who 
made him a fellow of the academy, and 
elected him treasurer, a iiosition be filled 
for a number of years. The museum of 
the Indiana University received many spec- 
imens from him in past years, especially of 
fishes, and his work on the fishes of his own 
county has made him a lasting name among 
the naturalists of the state." .Another sin- 
cere friend, .A. \\'. Butler, secretary of the 
board of state charities, said: "I have 
known Professor Shannon for twelve years, 
and we had become fast friends. I found 
the longer I knew him, the closer became 
the ties of friendship. He was a close .stu- 
dent, a hard worker, and a good observer 
and teacher. He has done much good 
work in science and loved the study of na- 
ture. He has been an excellent interpreter 
of nature's language, and perhaps few in 
our state have done .so much to interest the 
youth of our public schools in nature stud- 
ies as he. He was deeply interested in the 
work of the Indiana .Academy of Science. 
Of that organization he was one of the 
charter members and was highly regarded 
by his associates. For several years he has 
been its treasurer." The high e.stimation 
in which our subject was held universally 
is expressed in the following lines from the 
pen of W. S. Blatchley, state geologist: "I 
consider it an honor to have known W . P. 



Shannon personally. There are few men 
in Indiana who loved nature more, or who 
came in closer touch with her than he. 
\\'ith his own mind he reasoned out her 
secrets. He sought with his own eyes and 
hands her objects. His life work stands for 
far more for his thus doing than it would 
if he had accepted the ideas and works of 
other men as portrayed in books. His 
knowledge of the habits, haunts and life 
histories of birds, insects and other living 
forms was thus first-hand and manifold in 
character. With it was cou])led an excel- 
lent knowledge of the fossil forms of the 
past ages, and of geology. He was thus 
enabled to understand much more fully 
than the average scientist the close rela- 
tionship and interdependence existing 
among the various classes of natural ob- 
jects, and he fully realized that each is not 
an isolated gnnip standing alone, but that 
each is kin to all the others, an essential 
part of one grand and perfect whole, — the 
universe. His papers on nature study, in 
the Inland Educator, show how fully he 
was imbued with the thing itself and not 
the book concerning it; and how much he 
could get from a simple object in which the 
ordinary teacher could .see nothing. These 
papers, if faithfully followed, will give a new 
impetus to nature .study in the common 
schools of Indiana, which will serve as the 
best and most lasting monument of his 
life's work. As a member of the Indiana 
.Academy of Science Professor Shannon 
stood high, and was always on the program 
with a paper embodying the result of val- 
uable original obser\'ation. He will be 
greatly missed at its meeting, and with one 
accord its members will say that a noble- 
hearte<l. scholarly, painstaking investigator 



346 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



has forever gone from among their num- 
bers." 

A loving tribute to Professor Shannon is 
found in the following letter from Stanley 
Coulter, then occupying the important 
chair of biology at Purdue University: "It 
was with inexpressible sadness that I read 
the announcement of the death of W. P. 
Shannon. I had known him intimately for 
many years and found him, as did all oth- 
ers who knew him well, to always 'ring true." 
Of sterling worth, of exceptional ability, 
and having accomplished much, he was, 
withal, so modest and unselfish that it is 
doubtful if all fully recognized his worth. 
In a state which for years has been the home 
of scientists of broad reputation, he was 
one of the leaders. His opinions carried 
vvith them weight, always based upon the 
most painstaking and careful observation. 
I have been with him in many field meet- 
ings of the Academy of Science, and have 
often marveled at his broad knowledge, not 
only of the plants and animals, but of rocks 
and soils, of topographical features, indeed, 
of all those factors which in any way mod- 
ify life. He loved nature, and was very 
near to nature's heart. He sought eagerly 
after truth, and the truth to him was both 
incentive and reward. I am, perhaps, bet- 
ter entitled to speak concerning his work 
among plants. His knowledge was accu- 
rate and complete. He knew the whole 
life-history of the plants, recognizing them 
as seedlings or in leaf as readily as in flow-- 
er. He knew the soil in which they grew, 
their insect visitors, and could tell the story 
of varying conditions of soil and air upon 
their growth. In my preparation of the 
flora of the state I have often appealed to 
him concerning some particular point and 



have received in return a response so full 
and accurate, so rich in detail, so replete 
with suggestive facts, that I have urged 
him to publish over his own name the facts 
that he' so freely gave to others. Had he 
done nothing but what he has done in bot- 
any he would merit great honor from his 
fellow students of nature, but he did much 
more, for all life appealed to him, and all 
that affected life interested him, and as a 
reward for his great love, nature granted 
liim many glimpses of her deeper truths. 
The scientists of Indiana mourn his loss 
because of his constantly increasing con- 
tributions to biology, but they mourn him 
more as a man, for all honored and respect- 
ed him as one who stood 'four-square to 
every wind that blew." " 

The superintendent of public instruction, 
D. M. Geeting, said: "I have known Pro- 
fessor W. P. Shannon twenty-five years, 
and have been associated with him in many 
kinds of school work. He was an admira- 
ble companion and one of the warmest per- 
sonal friends I have e\'er known. His de- 
meanor was so quiet and unassuming that 
it took a long personal acquaintance to 
know the worth of the man. I feel tliat the 
educational work of the state has lost one 
of its most capable laborers, and his wise 
counsel will be missed in all educational 
gatherings. His W'ork in science was re- 
garded with much favor and his association 
with young people in such work has been a 
great inspiration to them in helping them 
to appreciate and understand nature's work 
around them." 

In similar \ein are epistles from Professor 
A. J. Bigney, who held the chair of natural 
science at Moore's Hill College; Charles 
R. Dryer, professor of geography in the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Indiana State Normal; R. Ellsworth Call, 
superintendent of the Lavvrenceburg 
schools; J. C. Gregg, superintendent of the 
Brazil city schools; Charles T. Powner, 
George L. Roberts and Mrs. Ida Wray, all 
of whom were connected with the public 
schools of Greensburg: and many others 
prominent in educational and scientific 
work throughout this state and the country 
at large. We cannot refrain from making 
one more quotation, this from the tribute 
of his friend and co-laborer, Professor Pow- 
ner, as it gives the key to his unusually 
successful efiforts in the development of the 
child mind, and the rare sympathy which 
he felt toward children: "He was recog- 
nized by the pupils as their friend, and, as 
iiuch, was approachable at all times. His 
office was visited daily by dozens of boys 
and girls carrying specimens from every 
field of nature. His invitations for walks 
through woods and fields were eagerly ac- 
cepted, and he never tired of their ques- 
tions nor their company. It was a frequent 
remark of his that children are the most 
acute of observers. It was this genuine 
faith in their abilities and in their work that 
secured for him their esteem. Having 
gained their friendship, it was an easy task 
to lead them into lines of good conduct. 
Through the friendship of the pupils he 
moulded their characters for future good." 
Through constantly delving into the deep 
things of nature. Professor Shannon thus 
possessed a lofty humility of mind that ac- 
knowledged the fact that wisdom oft is 
hidden from the wise, when it is "revealed 
unto babes." He was an honorary mem- 
ber of the American Archaeological & Brit- 
ish Association, his opinions and views be- 
ing received with respect and attention 



whenever he came before any of the various 
educational and scientific organizations to 
which he belonged. One of the happiest 
events of his life was the extended tour 
which he took through England, France. 
Switzerland and Italy, in 1881, but perhaps 
he enjoyed quite as much the frequent trips 
which he made to different parts of his own 
beloved land. In his youth Professor Shan- 
non became identified with the United 
Presbyterian church, and later in life, he, 
with his estimable wife, joined the Presby- 
terian church of Greensburg. Here, as 
might have been expected of one so true 
and conscientious, he was a very active 
worker, and, as superintendent of the Sun- 
day-school and at the head of the corps of 
teachers, the influence which he had for 
good cannot be calculated. 

In the happy home circle he, nevertheless, 
was at his best, as is the case with all of the 
truly good and noble characters whose life 
records have been handed down to us. He 
first married Miss Nettie Wampler, a si:,tcr 
of Dr. Wampler, of Richmond, Indiana, 
their wedding being solemnized in June. 
1875. She was a talented musician, and 
was a graduate of Glendale Female Semi- 
nary, of the class of 1869. A little daugh- 
ter, who was named Nettie, for her mother, 
was born to the young couple. The musical 
genius which she inherited has been culti- 
vated, and for some time she has made her 
home in Spring Hill, where she occupies 
an enviable position in society. Her young 
mother was taken from her soon after the 
daughter's birth, her death occurring in 
April, 1876. 

The marriage of Professor Shannon and 
Miss Mary M., daughter of Dr. F. A. and 
Mrs. R. O. Hester, was celebrated June 29, 



348 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



1887. Two daughters and a son — Willa, 
Tom and Marguerite — were born of this 
union. Mrs. Shannon's father, now seventy- 
seven years of age, was for a half century 
one of the most able and active workers m 
the southeastern Indiana conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He is now 
on the superannuated list of that denomi- 
nation, and with his wife, who though sev- 
enty-five, is still an active woman, is living 
in Greencastle, Indiana. Mrs. Shannon, 
who received an excellent education and 
was endowed by nature with rare qualities 
of mind and heart, was graduated in 
Moore's Hill College, in 1882. She was 
engaged in teaching until her marriage, 
and at present is one of the able and suc- 
cessful teachers in the Greensburg schools. 



THE HENDRICKS FAMILY. 

Of the leading families of this state for 
three-fourths of a century following its ad- 
mission to statehood there was none held 
in higher estimation — more popular with 
all classes of the people — than the gentle- 
man whose name heads this paper. Of the 
early history of the family nothing is known 
here dating previous to 1750, though it is 
very certain it is of Scotch-Irish origin. 

Abraham Hendricks was a Presbyterian 
preacher in Westmoreland county, Penn- 
sylvania, during the latter part of the last 
and early part of the present century. He 
was born in 1750 and died in 18 19; his 
wife Anna, maiden name unknown, was 
born in 1754 and died in 1835. They were 
the parents of nine children, — six sons and 
three daughters, — of whom five of the sons 
and two of the daughters were among the 



pioneer residents of Indiana. These were: 
I. Thomas, who was born January 28, 
1773, was married to a Miss Trimble, and 
had eight children at their native home. 
He was a land surveyor by profession, and 
in 1820 was sent out by the government to 
survey the region since known as Decatur 
county. After completing the surveys and 
the lands were placed in the market, on Oc- 
tober 28, 1820, he entered four eighty-acre 
tracts now embraced within the corporate 
limits of the city of Greensburg, and built 
thereon a hewed-log house, which was sit- 
uated on Central avenue, north side, about 
two hundred feet east of East street, and 
about the first of January had his family 
domiciled therein. It then consisted of 
five daughters and one son : Anna, who was 
married to Jacob Stewart, October 3. 1822; 
Mary, who married Silas Stewart, October 
7, 1823; Eliza, who married Henry H. 
Talbott, December 30, 1824; Abram, who 
married Eliza C. Andrews, May 6, 1831; 
and Sarah and Rachel, Ijoth of whom died 
single. All the above named have been 
dead many years, and their descendants 
are scattered over the west. Another son, 
Daniel, was drowned by falling overboard 
from a flat-boat as they were coming down 
the Ohio river on their emigration to Indi- 
ana. Mr. Hendricks' first wife died a few 
years after coming here, and September 6, 
1827, he was united in marriage to Eliza- 
beth C. Paul, a daughter of Jonathan Paul, 
an 1820 pioneer of Adams township, to 
which union two daughters were born — 
Eunice and Elizabeth — both of whom now 
live at Oakland, California, and are unmar- 
ried. 

The Hendricks residence soon became, 
and continued for a decade of vears, the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



349 



most notable locality in the county. In it 
all the courts were held for several years, 
and these sessions brought to it many of 
the lawyers and other leading men of the 
southeastern section of the state. It was 
also the Mecca of hundreds of land-seekers, 
who, Colonel (he brougiit tliis title here 
with him) Hendricks having m;ide tiie sur- 
vey of the lands. c;ime to him for informa- 
tion and adxice in regard to selections; and 
often did he leave his own work to aid them 
in the matter. 

The cominissioners a])i)ointcd to locate a 
county-seat for Decatur county met. June 
14, 182.'. at the "residence of Thomas Hen- 
dricks." as ordered, to discharge that duty. 
Several otifers were made of a bounty to the 
county in consideration of the location, the 
one decided as tlie best being si.xty acres 
occupied by Hendricks and forty by John 
Walker, adjoining tracts, the same being 
now in the heart of the city. The name 
Greensburg is said to have been given the 
place by Mrs. Hendricks, and the original 
plat was drawn and the lots laid off by Mr. 
Hendricks. 

Colonel Hendricks was essentially a busi- 
ness man, having no ambition for ])ublic po- 
sitions but being ])rincipally interested in 
opening out Iiis farm, and incidentally in 
merchandising ami li\e-stock dealing. He 
was. however, once a representative for De- 
catur in the lower house of tiie state legis- 
lature, and one term a senator from Deca- 
tur and Shelby counties. He was a charter 
member of tlie Presbyterian church at Old 
Sand Creek (18J3), and later of the Greens- 
burg churcli 0828). until his death, March 
31- 1835- 

.\bram Hendricks, the son. was an as- 
sistant to his father on the farm, and suc- 



ceeded him in the store at his death. He 
represented this county in the legislature 
of 1839, was census emmierator in 1840; 
in 1841 was elected sheriff, and was re- 
elected in 1843: in 1847 was elected coun- 
ty treasurer, and was successively re-elected 
in 1850, '53 and '55 — serving in all ten 
years, .\fter retiring from the oflice he 
was in the drug business initil his decease, 
July 4, 1878. He left two sons and three 
daughters, all of whom reside here. The 
oldest son, Thomas, was postmaster under 
the Harrison administration. 

2. William, who was born .\ugust 17, 
1776, and came to Indiana while it was yet 
a territory, and was secretary of the conven- 
tion that framed the constitution of 1816. 
He was its representative in congress — 
from 1817 to 1822 — governor from 1822 to 
1825, and United States senator from 1825 
to 1837. He married a ^liss Paul, of Mad- 
ison, daughter of the proprietor of that city 
and a cousin of the second wife of his broth- 
er Thomas. Their home was Madison. 
Col. John A. Hendricks, of an Indiana reg- 
iment, who was killed at Pea Ridge. Mis- 
souri. March 8. 1862, was a son of theirs 
.\noilier son, Grover, was a surgeon in the 
Union army during the civil war. while an- 
other, William, was a judge of the court of 
Jefferson county. Senator William Hen- 
dricks died November 12, 1872. 

3. John Hendricks, born January 29, 
1778, married a Miss Thompson, and set- 
tled at Shelbyville about the time that his 
brother Thomas did at Greensburg. He 
was a farmer I)y occupation, was a ruling 
elder in the Presbyterian church and a lead- 
er in public enterprises. He had political 
aspirations, which were not gratified in his 
own person, but were eminently so in tlie 



350 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



career of his son, Thomas A., who at differ- 
ent times was representative in congress, 
commissioner of the land oi^ce, one of the 
framers of the state constitution of 1852, 
governor of the state, United States sen- 
ator and vice-president during the first 
Cleveland administration. Abram T., an 
elder son, was a Presbyterian minister 
whose early death, it was believed, cut off 
a brilliant career. The father died in Au- 
gust, 1867: the son Thomas is also de- 
ceased. 



JAMES MORGAN. 

The subject of this sketch was born in 
Nicholas county, Kentucky. January 9, 
1802, there grew up to manhood, and in 
1 82 1 was united in marriage to Eliza Mc- 
Cov. In 1822 or 1823 he and his 
widowed mother, ^Mrs. Sarah Morgan, 
and her six children (three other 
sons and two daughters), came to 
this county and settled near Greensburg. 
But little is known of the previous history 
of the Morgan family except that it was of 
Scotch-Irish lineage, and was eminently 
endowed with the distinguishing character- 
istics of the Scotch race. 

The records show that January 7, 1823, 
a patent was granted to James Morgan for 
the east half of the northwest quarter of 
section 36, township 11, range 9, lying two 
miles north of Greensburg, where he made 
his first settlement that spring. It was an 
unbroken forest at that time, and how. 
without other means than his strong arm 
and indomitable will, he succeeded, in a 
single decade of years, in adding another 
"eighty" to that and opening out what is 
now one of the finest farms in the county, 



the present generation will never under- 
stand. 

It was not a long time until he began to 
attract the attention of his neighbors and 
was called by them to fill public positions. 
About 1827 he was appointed by the 
board doing county business as school- 
land commissioner, the duties of which 
were to superintend the leasing or 
sale of the various school sections, which 
position he held some six years. In 
1833 lie was elected sheriff', and in 
1833 was re-elected. In 1837, before his 
second term as sheriff' had expired, he was 
elected state senator, was re-elected in 1840, 
and again in 1843. In 1846 he was urged 
by his party friends to be a candidate again, 
so acceptable had been his nine years' ser- 
vice, but declined a re-election. Two years 
later, in 1848. he was again forced to the 
front as a candidate for the lower branch of 
the state legislature, was elected, and de- 
clined a re-election. In i860 he was elected 
countv treasurer, and was re-elected in 
1862. and at the close of this term retired 
finally from official life. 

On the call by President Lincoln (April. 
■1861) for seventy-five thousand volunteers, 
he and Ira G. Grover and Benjamin Rick- 
etts recruited a company that was assigned 
as B of the Seventh Indiana Infantry, of 
which he served as captain during the V.'est 
Virginia campaign of that summer, undei- 
General T. A. Morris. This was the one 
])osition of his life tliat he was unfitted for 
Of an active, nervous temiierament. and 
filled with ardor for the cause, he chafer, 
under what he thought the slowness of his 
superiors, and worse yet if a detail was made 
for some supposed hazardous duty and 
Company B was slighted. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



351 



i>red to the farm, iiis early ambition was 
to l)e a leader in that line, and his attention 
was mainly given to the management of his 
farm, wliich had grown in a very few years 
to near five hundred acres, .\long in the 
early '40s he. however, became engaged in 
buying and driving stock to the Cincinnati 
market, which later on develoijed into the 
winter slaughtering business, first at Cov- 
ington. Kentucky, and afterward at Cin- 
cinnati, in which he continued until his de- 
cease. April I. 1872. During these thirty 
years or more he was one of the best known 
and highly esteemed business men in the 
Ohio valley: had large dealings with farm- 
ers, shippers and packers all over that re- 
gion, and wherever known "his word was 
as good as his bond." Contracts involving 
thousands of dollars, often without the 
scratch of a pen, were held by him just as 
binding as if made under bond and seal, and, 
no matter what the sacrifice might be. were 
met as promptly as if they had been to his 
own advantage. 

Ouick-tempered. and often hasty and 
rough in sjieech. he yet gained and held the 
confidence and respect of all he came in 
contact with; generous to a fault, he often 
paid the penalty arising from this disposi- 
tion. All in all. James Morgan was one of 
Nature's noblemen: his faults were those 
of his temper: his virtues those of the heart. 



^VILL[A^[ HAUSE. 

Dr. William llause. of \\'esl|)ort. Indi- 
ana, is a son of Harris E. and Lucinda 
( Maynard) 1 l;uisc and was born in Jennings 
cuuiiiy. Indiati.i. Doceml)er 20. 1837. He 
is |)rominent as a physician and is honored 
as a public-spirited citizen who in our civil 



war achieved an enviable record as a sol- 
dier fighting for the Union cause. Some 
account of his parentage will be of interest 
in this connection. 

Harris E. Hause and Lucinda Maynard 
were both born in the state of New York, 
'i'hey were married there and in April, 1837, 
started west and located in Jennings county. 
Indiana, where Air. Hause was a success- 
ful blacksmith and farmer and became the 
owner of eighty acres of land which he im- 
proved and put in cultivation. He was a 
Democrat and a leader in local jjarty affairs 
and long held the offices of justice of the 
peace and township trustee and minor town- 
ship oflfices. He was of magnetic tempera- 
ment and made many warm friends, and his 
course in life was such as to win the respect 
of all who observed it. In early life he was 
a Baptist, but in later years a Universalist. 
He died in February. 1879. Lucinda May- 
nard. who became his wife, was a 
daughter of Cyrus L. Maynard. of 
New 'S^ork. who was of Welsh descent and 
was a farmer and a cabinet-maker and a 
general mechanic of much ability. He came 
to Indiana in 1837 and entered land in Jen- 
nings county, which he improved and made 
into a fine homestead, where he ended his 
days. His children were: Mary ("Mrs. S. S 
Wilder). Cyrus ("dead). Betsey (who mar- 
ried S. S. Wilder after the death of her sis- 
ter Mary). .\bel fdead). Lucinda (Mrs. 
Hause. and deceased). Dorcas (Mrs. C. Wil- 
der, also deceased), John (who lives in Wis- 
consin), Lyman (of Missouri), and Jane 
(Mrs. Thornton, deceased). Sanford and 
Jesse Hause, brothers of Harris E. Hau.se. 
moved from the east to Michigan about 
1837. Herman and Elmer came to Indiana 
and afterward they. too. went to Michigan. 



353 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Harris E. and Lucinda (Maynard) Hause 
had children named as follows, in the order 
of their birth: William, the immediate sub- 
ject of this notice; Mary, who married O. 
D.Allison: Louisa (Mrs. ^I. Wildey); Eli, 
who died leaving a widow and two chil- 
dren: Elmer, a carpenter and plasterer liv- 
ing in Oklahoma; Ada (Mrs. J. B. 
Hammond; Esther (Mrs. R. Wildey); Al- 
fred, who died at the age of seventeen; 
Harry, who died at the age of three; and 
Cora (Mrs. Biddinger. whose husband is 
connected with the merchant police of In- 
dianapolis, Indiana). 

Dr. William Hause was reared on the 
farm and gained his primary education in 
the public schools. He began reading med- 
icine at the age of nineteen years under the 
preceptorship of Dr. Alfred Force, of Hay- 
den, Indiana, and attended his first course of 
lectures in 1857-8 at the Eclectic ^ledical 
College. Cincinnati. Ohio. He devoted 
himself to other courses of lectures and to 
school-teaching until he began to practice 
his profession. In the fall of i860 his health 
declined somewhat and he went to Minne- 
sota for change of climate. Returning to 
Indiana in 1861, he later enlisted as a pri- 
vate in the Fifty-second Regiment Indiana 
\'olunteer Infantry. He was mustered 
into the service at Indianapolis and elected 
second lieutenant of his compan}-. His 
command was assigned to the Army of the 
Tennessee. The regiment fought at Fort 
Donelson and was in the siege of Corinth 
and minor engagements about Memphis, 
Fort Pillow and Vicksburg and participated 
in the chase after Price into Missouri in 
1864. It later served under Thomas in his 
operations against Hood at Nashville, and 
he was mustered out of the service at East- 



port, Mississippi, January 31, 1865, and he 
returned home by way of Indianapolis, hav- 
ing an honorable discharge. 

After his return to Hayden, Dr. Hause 
took another course of lectures at the Eclec- 
tic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
He came, soon after, to Westport and prac- 
ticed his profession there until 1867, when 
he removed to Lee Summit, Jackson coun- 
ty, Missouri, where he remained until 1873, 
when he returned to Westport, where he 
has built up a large and successful practice 
extending into all the surrounding country. 
He has developed into a model family phy- 
sician and has the respect of the entire com- 
munity in a remarkable degree. He is a 
Mason and a Knight of Pythias and a mem- 
ber of Fred Small Post, No. 531, Grand 
Army of the Republic, of Westport, Indi- 
ana. In politics he always espouses the 
Republican cause and is a man of influence 
in the councils of his party. 

Dr. Hause was married in April, 1858, 
to Miss Elizabeth A. Storey, daughter of 
Luther Storey, of Jennings county, and she 
died in September, 1859, leaving no chil- 
dren. August 9, 1863, he was married at 
Fort Pillow, Tennessee, to Mrs. Mary A. 
Hookery, of Dearborn county, Indiana, 
who visited the army to see her brothers. 
Mrs. Hookery was a daughter of Jacob 
Biddinger, of Dearborn county, Indiana, 
who served in the army. Mr. Biddinger 
was a farmer who, after living for a time at 
Aurora, Dearborn county, Indiana, moved 
to Missouri, whence he came back to In- 
dianapolis, Indiana, where he died in No- 
vember, 1873. After the death of her hus- 
band, Mrs. Biddinger lived for a time in the 
family of Dr. Hause, her son-in-law, but 
died at the residence of her son in Barthol- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



353 



omcw county in 1884. The children of 
Mr. ami Mrs. Bicidinger were: Samuel H.: 
James H., who was a soldier in the Union 
army in the civil war; Aaron, a physician, 
who died in 1861; Jacob L., also a soldier 
in the civil war; Solomon W.. a physician 
of Bartholomew county. Indiana; Ziza, 
who married \\'. (IrilTy, who died while do- 
ing .soldier duty in the war of the states, 
and later became Mrs. Myers; Nancy C, 
Mrs. Flynn. later Mrs. Swift; Jesse C. a 
police ofificer at Indianapolis, who made an 
envialjle record as a soldier in the civil war; 
and Mary .A... who married Dr. Hause. 

Dr. and Mrs. Hause united with the 
Christian church in March, 1872, and have 
ever since taken an active part in church 
and Sunday-school work. 

Mrs. Hookery was a widow with one 
son two years old when married to Dr. 
Hause. This son died when twenty years 
old. .\n adopted son known as W. T. 
Hause is a son of one of Mrs. Hause's 
brothers. They took him on the death of 
his mother when he was ten months old, 
and later made him their legal son by due 
process of law, and educated him and start- 
ed him in life. He is now twenty-eight, 
married, and lives at Indianapolis, Indiana, 
where he is doing well, in a business way. 
The influence of the life of Dr. and Mrs. 
Hause has been for good and they are re- 
garded very highly I)y ;dl who arc so f<iitu 
nate as to know them and most high'y l)y 
those who know them best. 



\VILLI.\M J. KINC.MD. 

Tliis sterling representative of an honored 
I>ioneer family of Decatur county has been 
a lifelong resident of Fugit township, where 



he is kno\\n by every one and is ranked 
among its foremost citizens. He has inher- 
ited the sturdy, upright traits of character 
which are so marked in the Scotch-Irish 
race whence he springs and which nowhere 
find such good oi)portunity for growth and 
ex])ression as in the L'nited States. 

John Kincaid, the paternal grandfather 
of our subject, was born in Tennessee in 
1775, and thence removed to Kentucky, 
and in 1828 to Clarksburg, Decatur county. 
Here he took an active part in the affairs 
of the young community and reared his 
four sons to be as useful citizens as himself. 
Joseph, the eldest, remained in Clarksburg, 
and David and John, Jr., continued to dwell 
in Fugit township, while .\ndrow. the sec- 
ond son, settled in Rush county, Indiana. 
Each of the brothers left numerous descend- 
ants, and thus the family name is well 
known throughout this portion of the state, 
always standing -for good citizenship and 
industrious, honorable yeomanry. The 
father departed this life, .August 9. 1848. at 
the age of seventy-two years, ten months 
and thirteen days. His wife preceded him 
to the better land, her death taking place 
February 23. 1846. when she was seventy- 
three years, five months and thirteen days 
old. 

John Kincaid, Jr., the father of W^illiam 
J., was born in Kentucky, November 28, 
1S13, and died at his old home in Fugit 
townshi]), .\pril 7, 1894. He was about fif- 
teen years of age when he came to this 
.county with his parents, and here he had 
abundant opportunity for the exercise of 
the varied talents with which nature harl 
endowed him. He was a successful busi- 
ness man and accumulated a fine estate. 
Conscientious in all his dealings with oth- 



354 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



ers, his word was considered as good as his 
l)ond, and his sincerity and uprightness 
never were doubted by those who knew him 
well. True to the religious tenets of his 
ancestors, he was a Presbyterian of the old 
school, for many years an elder in the local 
church and always one of its most liberal 
supporters and active workers. 

The first wife of John Kincaid, Jr., was 
Martha McCracken, and for a second wife 
he chose Priscilla Alexander, who bore him 
two children, namely: Martha E., now the 
wife of H. T. McCracken, of Fugit town- 
ship; and Mary, deceased. After the death 
of Mrs. Priscilla Kincaid, her sister, Nancy 
E., became his wife and the kind foster- 
mother of his little ones. She was a lovable 
Christian character, and for about two- 
score years they traveled the pathway of 
life together. She sun-ived him four years, 
her death occurring August 25, 1898. 

The birth of ^^^illiam J. Kincaid took 
place on the parental homestead, .\pril 14. 
1856, and in his youth he attended the 
Clarksliurg public school. Like his ances- 
tors, he is an excellent agriculturist and 
practical business man. No one in the 
community is more highly respected: and 
that he is trusted in and his opinions es- 
teemed of value may be judged from the 
fact that, in 1899, he was elected to serve 
as a member of the board of county com- 
missioners. He votes for nominees of the 
Democratic party and thoroughly en- 
dorses its platform. Religiously he is a 
Presbyterian, is one of the active members 
of the local church and at ])resent is serving 
in the capacity of elder. He was united 
in marriage to Miss IMattie Kincaid. a 
daughter of Andrew and Jane Kincaid, in 
1884, but on the 19th of January, 1896, was 



bereft of her by death. She was a lady of 
good education and native graces of dis- 
position, and was loved by the entire com- 
munitv. 



JOHN D. MILLER. 

Judge John Donnell Miller was the eld- 
est of three sons of George W. and Mar- 
garet Jane Miller (nee Donnell), was born 
December 2. 1840. at the old Miller home- 
stead one mile south of Clarksburg, Deca- 
tur county, Indiana. His ancestry upon 
his father's side were from Virginia, of Ger- 
man descent, and settled as above in 1822; 
on the mother's side they were Scotch- 
Irish, and came from Kentucky to this 
county in 182 1, — both families ranking 
among the most prominent pioneer citizens. 

The boyhood days of young Miller were 
passed upon this farm, where he tended the 
crops in summer and the neighborhood 
schools, which were of an exce]itionally 
high character, during the fall, winter and 
early spring months. In the fall of 1859 
he entered Hanover College, with the soph- 
omore year, and in September, 1861, left 
college and enlisted as a private in Com- 
pany G. Seventh Indiana Infantry Regi- 
ment, which was then reorganizing for the 
three-years ser\ice, and in which he served 
the full three years, participating in all the 
battles in which the regiment was engaged, 
over twenty in number — from Greenbriar, 
Virginia, October 3, 1861, to the Weldon 
Railroad, in August, 1864, in all of which 
he exhibited the stuff of which the true 
man is made. In 1862 he was detailed as 
adjutant's clerk, and ser\ed m that capac- 
ity until the spring of 1864. 

It was while thus engaged that he began 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



355 



the study of law. sending for one work at a j 
time, reading and thoroughly digesting it. 
when he would send it home and order an- 
other. — this while tiic great majority of his 
comrades were spending their idle time in 
frivolous amusements. On his discharge he 
entered the office of Hunter & Overstreet. 
at Franklin. Indiana, where he completed 
his studies and was admitted to the bar. 

In 1866 he became a member of the firm 
of Cumback & Bonner, and a few years 
later of Gavin & Miller, which on the death 
of Colonel Gavin became Gavin & Miller, 
this continuing until his ai^pointment. in 
1 89 1, by Governor Hovey, as sujjreme 
judge, on the death of Judge Berkshire. In 
1892 he was the Republican candidate for 
that position, but "went down to defeat" 
with the rest of the ticket. In the legisla- 
ture of 1872-3 he served as joint rejiresenta- 
tive from Decatur and Rush counties, and 
declined a re-election; in 1894 was chosen 
circuit judge for the same counties, and 
while serving in this position was stricken 
by ])aralysis, which terminated in his death, 
in March. 1898. 

Judge Miller was married, September 21. 
T869. to Mary Jane Stevens, a daughter of 
John F. and Martha Stevens, one of Greens- 
burg's most estimable families. She died 
several years since, leaving two daughters: 
Martha, now Mrs. Frank M. Thomson. 
and Nettie, now Mrs. Thomas 1*".. David- 
-son, both residents of this city. 

For a third of a century Greensburg was 
the home of Judge Miller. Here he lived, 
here he died, loved, honored and respected 
by all who knew him. Of him it may be 
written with strict truth that he was a just 
judge. His decisions were formed with 
care and expressed with vigor. He ex- 



plored the authorities with diligence and 
sought the ])rinciples of right and justice 
with zeal and care. 

His home life was a model of simplicity 
and attachment to his family; his social 
qualities were marked, and he carried cheer- 
fulness with him wherever he went. 



JAMES M. WOOD, M. D. 

Dr. James M. Wood, a highly successful 
young i)hysician of Greensburg who has the 
promise of a brilliant future in his chosen 
profession, was born in the southeastern 
part of Decatur county, Indiana, October 5, 
i860. His parents, Lorenzo D. and Eliza- 
beth (Martin) ^^^ood, were both of English 
descent. His father was born in North 
Carolina, and when he was a small boy his 
widowed mother, with her family of four 
sons and four daughters, came north to 
Kentucky, and from there to Indiana, locat- 
ing in Decatur county. Lorenzo Wood 
followed farming all his life, and was suc- 
cessful financially. He was an old-line 
Whig in his younger days, but later became 
a Democrat. His wife was born in Decatur 
county, Indiana, and was a daughter of 
John Martin, a native of Kentucky and an 
early settler of Decatur county, wdiither he 
came in 1818. He was a farmer by occu- 
pation. Lorenzo Wood died June 21. 
1863. and his wife is still living, at the age of 
eighty years. 

Dr. Wood was reared upon his father's 
farm an<l in his boyhood attended the dis- 
trict schools, acquiring a good common 
education. ^^M^en twenty years old he be- 
gan teaching, and devoted himself to that 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



occupation for the five succeeding years. 
He then decided to take up tlie study of 
medicine, and for some time read with Dr. 
J. \'. Schofield, now of Greensburg, who at 
that time was practicing in Harris City. In 
1886 he was matriculated in the medical 
department of the University of Tennessee, 
in which he graduated in 1888. Since that 
time he has taken post-graduate courses, — 
one in the Chicago Polyclinic, in 1892, and 
the other in Miami University, in 1897. 

Dr. Wood followed his profession for 
nine years while living on a farm near Har- 
ris City, but in 1897 he took up his residence 
in Greensburg, and at once gained the con- 
fidence and esteem of the community. He 
has an excellent practice, and is rapidly ac- 
quiring the reputation of a skillful and suc- 
cessful physician. He is of a very studious 
turn of mind, and delights in penetrating 
into the hidden causes of disease. In his 
investigations he has made many researches 
in the line of bacteriology, in which he is 
deeply interested, and the results of his 
studies may prove invaluable to the medical 
world. He has the aml)ition, persistence 
and faith in himself so necessary to any suc- 
cess, and with these combines the thorough- 
ness and scientific knowledge which gi\e 
authority to his conclusions. 

Socially Dr. Wood is a member of 
Greensburg Lodge, No. 148, Knights of 
Pythias. He also belongs to the state and 
county medical societies and to the Ameri- 
can Medical Association, to the latter of 
which he was made a delegate for the an- 
nual meeting of 1899, but was unable to at- 
tend on account of ill health. He takes an 
active part in the work of the Baptist 
church, of which he is a member. 

On November 14, 1897, Dr. Wood was 



united in marriage to Laura M., daughter 
of George and Catharine Fiscus, of Deca- 
tur countv. 



RE\'. JOSEPH R. WALKER. 

This honored minister of God, the last 
two decades of whose life were spent in 
Greensburg, will long be remembered, not 
only by those who were privileged to listen 
to his teachings from the pulpit, but also by 
tRe many who received from him instruc- 
tion in secular things. He has left behind 
him the record of an earnest, active life, 
devoted to the service of his Heavenly 
Father and the advancement of his fellow 
men, and it is well worthy of imitation. 

Mr. Walker was the son of Benjamin and 
Elizabeth (Walker) Walker, and was born 
in Dublin, Ireland,- October 17, 1822. 
When he was a boy of some fourteen years 
his father died, leaving a family of six child- 
ren, four daughters and two sons, to the 
care of the widowed mother. In 1842 they 
came to the United States and settled near 
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Joseph had 
laid the foundation of a good education in 
his native land, and, having decided to enter 
the ministry, he became a student in the 
United Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 
at Allegheny, at which he was graduated in 
1850. With the energy and perseverance 
w hich characterized his whole life, he made 
his way through college by teaching dur- 
ing the vacations. The first ministerial 
work after his graduation was at Buffalo, 
New York, where he preached as a stated 
supply for three months. He was then sent 
tc Michigan for a short time, and from 



r 



J*- i«fei^ 



I 




€Pj^^A2d 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



359 



there to Richland and Milroy, Rush county, 
Indiana, where he remained three months, 
as a supply. His first regular charge was 
the church at Spring Hill, Decatur county, 
a flourishing congregation, whose pastor he 
was for sixteen or seventeen years. His 
health failing, he was obliged to resign his 
pastorate, and in 1868 removed to Greens- 
hurg, where, as his physical condition im- 
proved, he filled the pulpit as a supply. 

In addition to this ministerial work Mr. 
Walker was well known as an educator. He 
taught private classes and fitted many 
young men for college. For this work he 
was admirably adapted, and his pupils were 
well trained not only in book lore, but in 
the many moral and religious acquirements 
which go to make up a rounded life. 

Mr. Walker was married September 21. 
1852, to Cassandra E. Donnell. of Spring 
Hill. Mr. Walker's death took place in 
Greensburg, June 15, 1886. 

Mrs. Walker's parents were Thomas and 
Mary (Lewis) Donnell. who were natives of 
Kentucky, and settled in Spring Hill in 
1828. The father was a very successful 
farmer and a prominent citizen. He was 
an active member of the Presbyterian 
church, and lived an upright life. He died 
in 1863, at the age of fifty-seven years, 
while his wife survived him until May, 1898, 
passing away at the ripe old age of eighty- 
nine years. 

Mrs. Walker still occupies her ])leasant 
home in Greensburg. and although she has 
been bereft of her entire family she finds 
comfort and consolation in doing good to 
others. Her hand and heart are ever open 
to the appeals of the needy or suffering, and 
the Goklen Rule is the compass by which 
she regulates her course in life. She has 



made many devoted friends during her long- 
residence in Greensburg, and is esteemetl 
by every one as a refined. Christian woman. 



GEORGE P. SHOEMAKER. 

Among the well known business men of 
Cireensburg is the gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch, and who is at the present 
time treasurer of Decatur county. He is 
the son of Peter and Margaret (Seitz) Shoe- 
maker, and was born in Brookville, Frank- 
lin county. Indiana, December 30, i860. 
He came to Greensburg with his parents 
when a boy of eight years and was educated 
in the public schools of that city. When 
sixteen years old he entered the dry-goods 
house of the late J. P. Hittle, where he re- 
mained for one year, and then went to Cin- 
cinnati. Finding employment with a relia- 
ble firm he learned bookkeeping in a prac- 
tical way, and seven months later returned 
to Greensburg, where he took the position 
of bookkeeper with John Emmert and later 
with Emmert & Company, and remained 
with them until 1892. 

In the spring of 1894 Mr. Shoemaker 
received an appointment as United States 
storekeeper in the sixth collection district 
of Indiana. .After serving five months in 
that capacity he was promoted a deputy, 
under the collector. Captain W^ H. Brack- 
en, of Brookville. Six months later he re- 
signed to accept the position of bookkeeper 
in the First National Bank of Greensburg. 
afterward being promoted to assistant cash- 
ier. Soon afterward the bank suspended 
payment and went into voluntary liquida- 
tion, and Mr. Shoemaker was made cashier 
to close up the business. Resigning this 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



position, July i, 1898, he took up book- 
keeping again, being employed by the Gar- 
land Milling Company. 

Mr. Shoemaker has always been an active 
and inrtuential Democrat, and in November, 
1898, he was elected county treasurer, by 
a majority of one hundred and tw«nty-two, 
the usual Republican majority in the coun- 
ty being three hundred and fifty. His term 
of office is for two years, beginning with 
January i, 1900. Socially our subject is a 
member of Greensburg Lodge, No. 103, 
I. O. O. F. and Sexton Encampment, No. 
42, I. O. O. F. He is a director in the 
Greensburg Building & Loan Association. 
He is well and favorably known in business 
circles. 

Peter Shoemaker, father of our subject, 
was born at Hessen, Hamburg, near the 
river Rhine, September 12, 1829. His par- 
ents were Jacob and Anna (Gerhart) Shoe- 
maker, the former a farmer in good cir- 
cumstances who spent the greater part of 
his life at Jeekenbach by Meisenheim, Ger- 
many, where he died at the age of eighty- 
six vears. He was a consistent member of 
the Lutheran church. There were five chil- 
dren in the family, two sons and four daugh- 
ters, three of whom are now living: Jacob, 
residing in Franklin county, Indiana; Mrs. 
Sarah McGregor, of Cincinnati, and Peter. 
The latter was for nine years a student in 
the excellent schools of his native land, and 
acquired a thorough education. He re- 
mained at home, assisting his father upon 
the farm, until reaching his majority, when, 
in accordance with the military laws of Ger- 
many, he was drafted into the army. His 
brother Jacob had already served six years 
and had taken part in the German and Dan- 
ish war. The draft was made in November, 



1 85 1, and finding that the younger brother 
would be called into active service the fol- 
lowing April, the young men decided to 
emigrate to America, the "land of the free." 
Bidding adieu to the loved ones at home 
they traveled across the country to "Bingen 
on the Rhine," and went aboard a ship 
sailing to Havre, France. At this port they 
secured passports, and on November 27, 
1 85 1, set sail for the New World, landing 
in New York city January 21, 1852, after 
a long and tiresome voyage. 

From New York the brothers found their 
way to Brookville, Indiana, where Jacob 
settled permanently and now lives retired. 
Peter secured work on a farm for four 
months, and then assisted in building a 
bridge over the Whitewater river. His 
next job was on the Whitewater canal, and 
three months later he was made captain, 
holding the place for a year, when the own- 
er of the boat sold it, and Mr. Shoemaker 
returned to Richmond, Indiana. For the 
following two years he drove an omnibus 
at that place, and then worked for a year 
and a half on a farm near by. He soon 
afterward went to Brookville for a short 
time and while there made the acquaintance 
of Margaret A. Seitz, of Lawrenceburg, 
Indiana, to whom he was married .\pril g, 
1858. 

]\Ir. Shoemaker then decided to begin 
farming on his own account, near Laurel, 
Franklin county. He remained here until 
1868, when he removed to Greensburg and 
entered the employ of his brother-in-law, 
John Emmert (now deceased), who for 
many years operated a large flouring mill 
and elevator. His connection with this con- 
cern lasted for twenty-three years, or until 
1S91, when, on account of impaired health. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



361 



he was obliged to give up active work. His 
wife died Fel^ruary i8, 1890, at the age of 
tifty-one years. Their only child is George 
P.. whose name heads this sketch. 

Mr. Shoemaker was confirmed in the 
Lutheran church of his native city when 
onl)' fourteen years of age, l)ut after com- 
ing to America united with the Presby- 
terian church. He is proud of the free in- 
stitutions of his adopted country and is one 
of its most loyal citizens. 



JOHN F. LUCiENBELL. 

Greensburg has no more able, progressive 
citizen than the young business man whose 
name heads this brief tribute to his worth. 
One of her native sons, he was born May 
26, 1 861, in the residence now occupied by 
him, No. 158 North Michigan avenue, and 
has known no other home. Naturally, he 
takes more genuine interest in the welfare 
and steadily growing prosperity of this 
place than does the foreign-born resident, 
for he has watched its advancement step 
by step, since his earliest recollections, and 
since he arrived at maturity he has mate- 
rially aided in the work. 

He possesses many of the best qualities 
for which his grandfather. Peter Lugenbell, 
was noted. That gentleman was born in 
the beautiful province of .\lsace-Lorraine, 
when it was yet under the ]iroud rule of 
France. In i8_'i he emigrated to New 
York city, where he liecame financially in- 
terested in a dairy business, but subse- 
c|uently turned his attention to other lines, 
at one time being a florist, and for a period 
being the proprietor of a hotel in what now 



is the heart of the metropolis. He was a 
man of good education, speaking the 
French and English languages fluently, 
and, in general, was successful in life. Dur- 
ing the dreadful cholera epidemic of 1848. 
he fell a victim to the scourge, dying at the 
age of sixty-five years. To himself and 
wife, Mary (Eckensw.eler) Lugenbell, also 
a native of Alsace, one son and four daugh- 
ters were born. 

The son, Peter Lugenbell, Jr., born De- 
cember 7, 1827, in the city of New York, 
resided there until he attained his majority, 
when he decided to come to the west. He 
had learned the florist's business with his 
father, and later worked as a carriage man- 
ufacturer. After being employed at the 
last mentioned occupation in Cincinnati for 
four years and a half, he came to Greens- 
burg, and ever since that time, 1854, he 
has been numbered among our leading 
business men. Fie is a mechanical genius, 
and has taken out fifteen or twenty patents 
on inventions and improvements in the car- 
riage line and on ditching machines, hay- 
rakes and other agricultural implements. 
He is now working upon a perpetual-motion 
machine, and has at last so perfected it that 
he is confident that it will run as long as 
the material of the machine lasts. 

In 1848 the marriage of Peter Lugenbell 
and Margaret Knabalaugh was solemnized 
in New York city. She was born in Darm- 
stadt, Germany. April 18, 1827, and came 
to the United States when she was seven 
years of age. By Jier marriage she became 
the mother of nine children, several of whom 
she lived to see holding honorable positions 
in the busy world. She was summoned to 
the better land on the 2d of July, 1895. 
Her eldest son, Fred P., is a successful car- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



riage painter, of Marietta, Ohio. George 
W., a blacksmith, is employed in the Lin- 
coln Carriage Company's works, of this 
place, and is a member of Decatur Lodge, 
No. 103, L O. O. F. William H. is the 
superintendent of a carriage factory at Mor- 
ristown. New Jersey. Mary, born August 
4, 1859, died in 1865. Hannah R., a grad- 
uate of the Greensburg high school, has 
been engaged in teaching here for the past 
six years. Joseph S. holds the position of 
clerk in the Chittenden Hotel, at Columbus. 
Ohio. Leonard L. died when three years 
of age in 1870. Charles E. died in 1891, 
at the age of twenty-one years. He was a 
member of Decatur Lodge, No. 103, L O. 
O. F. 

John F. Lugenbell obtained a liberal ed- 
ucation, and when in his fifteenth year he 
commenced serving an apprenticeship to 
the trade of a carriage blacksmith. At the 
end of four years he began painting and 
decorating carriages, which branch of the 
business he continues to follow. Since 
the organization of the Lincoln Car- 
riage Company he has held the responsible 
position of superintendent of the painting 
department, in addition to which he is the 
assistant superintendent of the entire works. 
To his practical knowledge of all of the 
details of the business, and to his thorough- 
ness and fidelity to the best interests of the 
company, much of its success may be justly 
attributed. 

One of the most enthusiastic Democrats 
in this locality, Mr. Lugenbell has become 
widely known, as iov a number of cam- 
paigns he has engaged in stump speaking 
in different parts of the state, though mainly 
in this and adjoining counties. For four 
years he was chairman of the citv Demo- 



cratic central committee and for two years 
he was secretary of the county committee. 
Moreover, for six years he served on the 
school Iioard, two years as secretary, two 
years as treasurer and two years as presi- 
dent. In February, 1885, he joined the 
Odd Fellows order, passed all the chairs in 
Decatur Lodge, No. 103, and identified 
himself with Sexton Lodge, No. 42, where 
he filled all of the offices also. He is the 
only gentleman who has been honored with 
all of the offices in Philo Lodge, No. 75, 
Daughters of Rebekah, and represented all 
of these three branches of the Odd Fellows 
in the grand lodge of the state. The great 
and rare honor of being chosen as grand 
instructor of the state at length fell to him, 
and for three years he officiated in that ex- 
tremely difficult position, the importance 
of which may be judged when it is stated 
that only two men during the fifty years 
prior to his acceptance of the office had 
occupied the place or had been found com- 
petent to fill it, as extraordinary qualities 
of memory, discrimination and judgment 
are absolute requisites. Ever since he was 
sixteen years of age he has been an active 
member of the First Methodist Episcopal 
church of this place, casting his influence 
on the side of religion and morality. 



JOHN W. NATION. 

John Wesley Nation, ex-treasurer of De- 
catur county, is known far and near for the 
prominent part he has borne in local af- 
fairs, and wherever his name is mentioned 
tributes of praise are freely accorded him. 
He is a citizen of public spirit, devoted to 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



363 



progress and enterprise in all lines, and 
those who have been associated with him 
for almost a lifetime repose the utmost 
trust in him. knowing that he is thorouglily 
reliable and honorable. 

John \V. Nation is a son of William K. 
and Catherine (Smith) Nation, the former 
a native of Grant county, Kentucky, born 
December 22. 1824, and the latter born in 
Harrison county, same state. May 13. of 
the same year. When he was but a child, 
William K. Nation was bereaved by the 
death of his father, Wesley Nation, and 
some years afterward his mother, Jemima 
(Harrison) Nation, became the wife of Wil- 
liam L. Williams. The latter removed to 
Indiana in 1834. bringing with him his 
family, which comprised his wife and her 
three children, \\\ K.. and two daughters, 
Nancy G. and Margaret, the children of her 
own by a previous marriage. In Clinton 
township William K. Nation grew to man- 
hood and then married Catherine Smith, 
who had come to this county in 1830, when 
she was six years old. Her parents. Elijah 
and Kate (Claypool) Smith, were natives 
of Virginia. For some time subsequent to 
his marriage William K. Nation was en- 
gaged in farming in Sand Creek township, 
and later he became a resident of Clinton 
township. He owned a good farm and 
was a practical agriculturist, respected by all 
of his neighbors and acquaintances. In his 
political views he was a stanch Republican 
after the formation of that party. During 
the civil war he served as enrolling officer, 
having been appointed to that important 
post by Governor Morton, and though 
many dangers threatened him in that turbu- 
lent period he resolutely performed every 
duty devolving upon him and won the high- 



est commendation from his superiors. In 
brief he was a man of stalwart principle, 
one whom naught could turn aside from 
what he believed to be the right course. 
Religiously he was a member of the Chris- 
tian church, and was liberal in the main- 
tenance of the congregation with which he 
was identified. He died at his home in the 
western part of this township, September 
30. 1863, and was survived by his widow 
for more than a score of years, her death 
occurring April 26, 1884. 

John Wesley Nation, who was born on a 
farm in Sand Creek township, November 
21, 1847. was one of nine children, of whom 
four have been summoned to the better 
land. Mrs. Sarah J. Sefton died a few years 
ago and the other three d'led in early life. 
Elijah C. lives in Rush county; and the 
surviving daughters are Mrs. Martha E. 
Overleese, who resides in Fayette county. 
Illinois; Mrs. Jemima C. Parker, of this 
township; and Mrs. Emma B. Sefton. 

From his early years Mr. Nation has been 
familiar with agriculture in its various de- 
l)artments. For a number of years he has 
been more especially devoted to dealing in 
lumber, and has met with distinct success in 
that iiursuit. His transactions in lumber 
have not been limited to this state, but have 
included certain portions of the south. His 
excellent business methods and well known 
financial ability, with his wide popularity, 
led to his nomination and election to the 
responsible office of treasurer of Decatur 
county. He served for two terms in that 
position, from 1889 to 1893, and by all con- 
cerned was given sincere praise for the fidel- 
ity and skill which he had shown in the 
management of the county's finances. He 
uses his franchise on behalf of the Repub- 



364 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



lican party, and is an earnest believer in its 
policy. 

On the 17th of March, 1870, a very im- 
portant event in the life of Mr. Nation took 
place, as upon that day he was united in 
marriage with Margaret Swails, daughter 
of Robert and Mary J. (JCnox) Swails. Her 
grandfather, Nathan Prather Swails, was 
born in 1800, in Maryland, within twelve 
miles of our country's capital. Washington, 
and during the war of 18 12 he saw the 
smoke arise from the burning city which 
the British had set on fire. Years after- 
ward he came to Decatur county, and was 
one of the earliest settlers in Clinton town- 
ship. He died on the farm now owned and 
occupied by Mr. Nation. Only two of his 
several children survive, namely, Nathan 
and Josiah, wdio reside in Boone county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Nation have two children, a 
sun and a daughter, Wilbur K. and Kitty 
Claypool. 



.THE THOMSON FAMILY. 

The name of Thomson is to be found 
almost coextensive with our Anglo-Saxon 
civilization, and wherever found the indi- 
vidual bearing it lays claim to the same 
Scotch ancestry; and this claim is supported 
Ijy the fact that the same given names, pre- 
vious to the last half century, were to be 
found in every family bearing the surname. 

[For much of what follows the writer ac- 
knowledges his indebtedness to a "History 
of the Thomson Family" left by the late 
Rev. Preston Wallace Thomson, of Ma- 
comb, Illinois.] 

James Thomson, the founder of the 
American branch of the family of which 



this sketch treats, was a son of William 
Thomson, who emigrated from Scotland to 
Ireland early in the seventeenth century; 
and nothing further of him is known. 
James Thomson was born in county Done- 
gal, Ireland, in 1730, and married to Mary 
Henry, in 1760. In 1770 or 1771, with five 
children, they emigrated to America and 
settled, first in Franklin county, Pennsylva- 
nia, where they remained until 1777, when 
they removed to Westmoreland county in 
the same state, and again from there to 
Nicholas county, Kentucky, in 1793, their 
oldest son, William, having preceded them 
there by one year. Of the Irish-born chil- 
dren William was born in 1761, Jane 1763, 
Esther 1765, Rosanna 1767, and Martha 
1770. Four others were born in Pennsyl- 
vania: John, November 11, 1772; Alex- 
ander, April 23, 1775; James Henry, April 
2, 1778, and Mary in 1780. 

"Grandfather," says the historian above 
named, "was a ruling elder in the Presby- 
terian church in Ireland, also in the Cona- 
cocheague church in Franklin, the Salem 
church in Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and in old Concord church, Nicholas 
county, Kentucky. He died there in 1817, 
and his wife in 1823, each of whom had 
reached the age of eighty-seven years." 

William Thomson, eldest son of James 
and Mary, and the one from whom the fam- 
ily in Decatur county was mostly descend- 
ed, was married to Sally McConnaughy in 
Pennsylvania, in 1787 or 1788. He died in 
Kentucky, March 15, 1822, aged sixty-one 
years, and she in this county, May 25, 1835. 
aged about seventy. They left four living 
sons, all married: James, who married Jen- 
nie Blair, and died near Rushville in 1836; 
Samuel, twice married, died in Boone coun- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



365 



tv, in 1835; William H., married Jane B. 
M. Blair, and l)oth died in this county, — 
he March 18, 1864, and she December 14, 
1866; and John, of whom "more anon." 

John Thomson, the second son of James 
and Mary, became a Presbyterian minis- 
ter, and in his younger days labored at Rip- 
ley, Ohio, and about 1830 settled at Craw- 
fordsville. this state, where he was largely 
instrumental in establishing Wabash Col- 
lege. Four of his sons followed him in a 
ministerial career: William ]\I., who went 
as a missionary to Palestine about 1832, 
and was the author of The L;md and the 
Book; James, who was many years pastor 
of the Presbyterian churches at^ Crawfords- 
ville and Wabash, and in later years in Min- 
nesota; John and Samuel, who, besides be- 
ing preachers, were professors in Wabash 
College. Another son, Alexander, is an 
attorney at Crawfordsville, and until a few 
months since had been for over a quarter 
of a century treasurer of the college. A 
number of the sons and grandsons are now, 
or were when living, Presbyterian ministers. 

James II.. the third son of James and 
Mary, was a farmer. i)ut took an active in- 
terest in church work, lie was famed 
throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana 
as a revival singer, and was a ruling elder 
both at Concord, Kentucky, and at old 
Sand Creek, now Kingston, this county. 
Me reared two sons for the ministry: James, 
who settled in Mississippi about 1832; and 
Preston Wallace, before mentioned. An- 
other son, Samuel Harrison, was a profes- 
sor in Hanover College, this state, for over 
a quarter of a century, and was also a 
licensed minister, and had three sons in the 
ministry, two of whom are now living. Two 
of James' daughters married Presbyterian 



preachers, — Rev. Samuel (i. Lowry and 
George F. Whitworth. — and Ijoth of these 
have sons in the ministry. 

The writer heretofore quoted states that 
the descendants of James and Mary Henry 
Thomson up to 1877 were, of the first 
generation, nine; the second, fifty-two; the 
third, three hundred; and the fourth and 
fifth, near eighteen hundred. Another 
authority gives the number of male descend- 
ants of the name of Thomson who had en- 
tered the ministry up to 1890, as eighteen, 
with about half as many more from the fe- 
male line, while a far greater number were 
teachers, professors, physicians, attorneys, 
civil engineers or in other professional pur- 
suits, the great preponderance, however, be- 
ing tillers of the soil. A grand showing 
from a single pair in a period of one hun- 
dred and fortv-seven vears! 



JAMES E. MENDEXHALL. 

This gentleman needs no introduction to 
the readers of this volume, for few are more 
widely known in Decatur county than he. 
For many years he has been actively identi- 
fied with the business interests of Greens- 
burg, and has long been prominent in 
political alifairs. He has exerted a wide 
influence in Democratic circles and has left 
an impress of individuality upon the mate- 
rial advancement and political history of his 
native county. 

Mr. Mendenhall was born near what is 
now Alert. Decatur county, June 2;^. 1853, 
his parents being Noah and Mary J. 
(Quick) Mendenhall. His father was a na- 
tive of Butler county, Ohio, was married 
near Brookville, Indiana, and there engaged 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



in merchandising. In 1850 he came to 
Decatur county, locating in Jackson town- 
ship where he carried on farming and also 
did an extensive business as a nurseryman. 
He was well known throughout this section 
and sustained an unassailable reputation. 
His fellow citizens, appreciating his worth 
and integrity, called him to public office, and 
he served as trustee of Jackson township 
for twelve years, being elected by the Demo- 
cratic party, of which he was a stanch advo- 
cate. In 1865 he sold his farm in Jackson 
township and removed to Clay township, 
where for two terms he filled the office of 
justice of the peace. He was long a faith- 
ful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, held many of its offices and was very 
active in its work. He contributed liber- 
ally to its support, was regular in his attend- 
ance on its services and in his daily life ex- 
emplified his Christian belief. His death 
occurred in Greensburg in August, 1898, 
when he was seventy-six years of age. He 
was married in 1847, to Miss Mary J. Quick. 
She was a native of Franklin county, Indi- 
ana, and became the mother of eleven chil- 
dren, of whom six sons and four daughters 
grew to years of maturity. The sons and 
three of the daughters are still living. 
James E. is the eldest of the sons; John C. 
is a druggist and manufacturer of and deal- 
er in proprietary medicines, in Evansville, 
Indiana; Noah is the editor of the Laporte 
News, of Laporte, Indiana; \\'illiam C. of 
Evansville, is head bookkeeper of the firm 
of H. A. Cook & Sons, wholesale grocers; 
Rush is living in Franklin, Indiana; Edgar 
X. is principal of the high school of Greens- 
burg, and is mentioned in another page of 
this volume; Indiana is the wife of W. J. 
(irant, a merchant of Clifty, Indiana; Flor- 



ence died at the age of twenty-four years; 
Zouie makes her home with her mother in 
Greensburg; and Queen is the wife of J. 
H. Spillman, of the firm of Mendenhall & 
Spillnian, hardware merchants of Greens- 
burg. 

In the public schools James E. Menden- 
hall acquired his education, and at the age 
of eighteen years entered the school-room 
as a teacher. For seven years he followed 
that profession, and was then elected county 
recorder, in 1878, on the Democratic ticket, 
receiving a majority of two hundred and 
twenty-two when the usual Republican ma- 
jority was three hundred. He ably dis- 
charged his duties and on the expiration of 
his term was re-elected, in 1882, by a major- 
ity of two hundred and fourteen. Before 
the expiration of his second term he pur- 
chased the Decatur News, then edited by 
W. A. Donnell, and the Press, then edited 
by Martin Zorger. He consolidated those 
papers under the name of the New Era in 
1885, and edited and published that journal 
for seven years. It was the only Demo- 
cratic paper in the county and received a 
liberal support. Success attended his ef- 
forts in journalistic circles and he made the 
New Era one of the brightest and best 
newspapers found in this section of the 
state, but in 1892, on account of impaired 
health, he sold out to Allen W. Clark. 
While editor of the paper he was appointed 
clerk of the committee on public lands of 
the house of representati\es, fiftieth con- 
gress. Judge W. S. Holnian, who was called 
the "Watch-dog of the Treasury," being 
chairman of the committee. He was also 
appointed and served as clerk of the com- 
mittee of Indian affairs, house of repre- 
sentatives of the fifty-third congress. Judge 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



36? 



Holnian l)eing also chairman of that com- 
mittee. For four years he was engaged in 
the real-estate and brokerage business, and 
in 1898 he l)egan deaHng in hardware, 
farming implements and plumbers" supplies, 
purchasing tiie stock of Robert Maegel, in 
connection with liis lirotlicr-in-law, J. H. 
SpiMman. The tirni ..f Mcudcnhall & Spill- 
man is now conducting a large and ])rotita- 
ble business. 

In t886 Mr. Mendenhall was united in 
marriage to Miss Manie E. Ross, the eldest 
daughter of Marine D. Ross, who was one 
of the leading citizens of Decatur county, 
but is now deceased. Socially Mr. Men- 
denhall is a prominent Mason, a member of 
Greensburg Lodge, No. 36, F. & .\. M., and 
Greensburg Chapter, R. .\. M. He also 
belongs to Decatur Lodge, No. 103, L O. 
O. F. Soon after attaining his majority he 
united with the Methodist Episcopal church, 
with which he was officially connected for 
many years. He has led an honorable, 
upright and useful life and Greensburg num- 
bers him among its l)est citizens. His un- 
impeachable character, both in social cir- 
cles and in public life, has gained him a large 
circle of friends. 



JOHN MORRISON. 

The subject of this .sketch was the found- 
er of the Greensburg Re])ository — now the 
Standard. He was the fourth st)u of Wil- 
liam and Sally McC. Morrison, was born 
in Nicholas county, Kentucky, March 26, 
1796. and was married to Spicy G., daugh- 
ter of Robert and Mary Eward Hamilton, 
November 22, 1821. In March. 1823, they 
moved to Decatur countv and settled four 



miles northeast of Greensburg, where they 
remained until the fall of 1832, when they 
moved to Greensburg; and here they re- 
tained their home until their deaths, she 
dying December 22, 1838, and he the 3d 
day of February, 1856. 

During the winter of 1823-4 he and a 
brother-in-law, Elijah Mitchell, introduced 
the first wool-carding machinery in the 
county, located on the exact spot where 
Robert .\. Hamilton's residence now 
stands, which business he continued, e.xcept 
from 1837 to 1840. until 1847. I" the fall 
of 1835 he issued the first number of the 
Greensburg Repository, now the Greens- 
burg Standard, the first permanently estab- 
lished newspaper in the county, of which 
he continued the i^roprietor and editor un- 
til the fall of 1843, when he turned the busi- 
ness over to John Thomson and Jacob W. 
Mills, the latter now of Kingfisher, Okla- 
homa. In 1847 ^fr. Thomson engaged in 
the grocery and drug business, in which he 
continued until his decease. 

In 1829 he was elected sheriff, his oppo- 
nent being the late .\bram Hendricks, and 
was re-elected in 183 1. receiving all but 
ninety-two out of over nine hundred votes 
polled, his opponent then being Enoch 
Tackett. In 1834 he was the Whig candi- 
date for representative in the state legisla- 
ture, and was defeated by William Fowler, 
the fact of his being a temperance man be- 
ing used effectively against him. Two 
years thereafter he was elected associate 
judge, and as such he served a term of si.x 
years. In 1841 he was the nominee of the 
Whig party for county treasurer, but, not- 
withstanding General Harrison had carried 
the county the year before for president In- 
near four hundred and fifty majority, owing 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



to dissatisfaction with some action of the 
convention the entire county ticket was de- 
feated by goodly majorities, — Abram Hen- 
dricks over Jackson Draper, for sherifif; 
Andrew Dyer over Philander Hamilton, 
for auditor; and James B. Foley over John 
Thomson, regular, and James Johnston, in- 
dependent, for treasurer. A few years later 
(record not found) he was elected probate 
judge, in which position he continued to 
serve until the office was abolished by the 
constitution of 1852. With this his polit- 
ical life closed. 

In 1833 he was chosen ruling elder in 
the Greensburg Presbyterian church and 
was continued in that relation until his 
death, and was often a delegate from this 
church to the presl^yteries and synods. At 
the first organization of a temperance so- 
ciety in this county (about 1830) he signed 
the total-abstinence pledge, also that of the 
Washingtonians, in 1842, and served as 
president of both these organizations; but 
when the Sons of Temperance was organ- 
ized, in the early '50s. such was his preju- 
dice against secret societies that he refused 
to join it. "If it was a good thing," said 
he, "let it be ojien to the public, that all 
may see and know it." 

After the death of his first wife he mar- 
ried Mrs. Catharine Gillespie (widow of Dr. 
Jesse M. Gillespie, and daughter of Judge 
John and Jennie Hopkins), who survived 
him thirty years, dying July 10, 1886. By 
the first marriage he was the father of ten 
children, six of whom died in early child- 
hood: by the second, of two, one of whom, 
Milton Morris, died May 7, 1849. Of the 
five who survived him four are now living, 
— Orville. Rosina and Jesse M., in this city, 
and Camilla T. Donnell, at The Dalles, Ore- 



gon. Origen, the fifth, was a civil engineer 
by profession, served several years as 
county surveyor and city engineer, and at 
the time of his death, November 8, 1882, 
was the largest stockholder in the Sand 
Creek Limestone Company and its secre- 
tarv and treasurer. 



WILLIAM S. \\-OODFILL. 

As the river whose deep and steady cur- 
rent, winding among fair landscapes, past 
l)lossoming fields and through busy towns, 
blessing millions of people and enhancing 
the wealth of nations, affords little of that 
wiUl and romantic scenery which startles the 
traveler or delights the artist; so those lives 
which contribute most toward the improve- 
ment of a state and the well-being of a peo- 
ple are seldom the ones which furnish the 
most brilliant passages for the pen of the 
historian or biographer. There is, in the 
anxious and laborious struggle for an hon- 
orable competence and the solid career of 
the liusiness or jirofessional man fighting 
the every-day battle of life, but little to at- 
tract the idle reader in search of a sensa- 
tional chapter; but for a mind thoroughly 
awake to the reality and meaning of human 
existence, there are noble and immortal 
lessons in the life of the man who. without 
other means than a clear head, a strong arm 
and a true heart, conquers adversity, and 
toiling on through the work-a-day years of 
a long career finds that he has not only won 
wealth l)ut also something far greater and 
liigher. — the deser\-ed respect and esteem 
of those with whom his years of active life 
jilaced him in contact. 

Such a man, and for many years one of 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



369 



tlie leading citizens of Greensburg, was 
William Skeen Woodfill, who was horn in 
Owen comity, Kentucky, November i6, 
1825. and died in Greensburg, July 25, 
1899. The Woodfill family is of Welsh and 
English extraction, and was established in 
Pennsylvania in early colonial days. From 
that state Rev. Gabriel Woodfill removed to 
Shelby county, Kentucky, and subsequently 
located in Jefiferson county, Indiana, where 
he died at a very advanced age. He was a 
pioneer Methodist minister, and for many 
years rode the circuit, e.xerting a wide influ- 
ence for good. His son, Andrew \\''oodfill. 
the grandfather of our subject, was born in 
Pennsylvania, and with his parents went to 
Shelby county. Kentucky, when a lad in his 
teens. He afterward removed with the 
family to Jefferson county, settling near 
Madison. Indiana, where he spent the re- 
mainder of his life, successfully engaged in 
farming. He entered land from the gov- 
ernment and de\eloped therefrom a good 
farm, on which his death occurred. He 
too was a member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and in his political views was 
first a Whig and afterward a Republican. 
.Ml of the family were adherents of the same 
])olitical faith with the exception of one, 
who for a .short time voted the Democratic 
ticket, but ultimately joined the Rei)ublican 
ranks. Andrew Woodfill married Miss 
Mitchell, and they were the parents of 
twelve children, eight of whom grew to 
years of maturity. Of these. Mrs. Ellen 
Greene lives in Seattle. Washington; ^Irs. 
Sarah Marsh is a resident of Illinois: and 
Mrs. James Woodfill makes her home in 
Texas. The others are now deceased. 

Gabriel Woodfill, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born in Shelby county, Kentucky. 



in 1800, and when a young man went to 
Jefferson county, Indiana, with his parents. 
There he remained for some years, after 
which he returned to Kentucky, and on the 
iTjth of November. 1830, he took up his 
residence in Greensburg. Prior to this 
time he had carried on farming and had 
also conducted an old-time tavern, but after 
coming to this city he turned his attention 
to merchandising, which he carried on for 
many years, when he was succeeded by his 
sons. This business, founded by Gabriel 
\\'^oodfill in November. 1830. is probably 
the oldest mercantile enterprise in the state 
that has been conducted continuously by 
one family through a period of almost sev- 
enty years. The store is located at the cor- 
ner of Washington street and Broadway, 
and Gabriel Woodfill. who was one of the 
]Moneer merchants of the town, had a good 
trade and was widely known throughout the 
county. Before a bank had been estab- 
lished in the town business men deposited 
their money with him. for he sustained an 
unassailable reputation and his name was 
synonymous with honesty in trade transac- 
tions. In i^olitics he was a stanch Whig, 
until the dissolution of the party, when he 
became equally zealous in his advocacy of 
Republican principles, being a man of 
strong convictions, but never on office- 
seeker. He was a leading and active mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
served as steward, trustee and in other of- 
fices, and aided very materially in the build- 
ing of two churches, the First Methodist 
and the Centenary Methodist, supporting 
both very liberally. In his bu.siness deal- 
ings he met with gratifying success, and his 
prosperity was well merited. Mr. Wood- 
fill was twice married. He first wedded 



370 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Eleanor Pullam, and to them were 1:)orn 
three children: Andrew, now deceased; 
\Villiam S., of this review; and Mary, de- 
ceased wife of Henry Christian, who was a 
prominent attorney in Greensburg. After 
the death of his first wife Mr. Woodfill mar- 
ried Elizabeth, a daughter of Joseph Van 
Pelt, of Kentucky, and to them were born 
three children: James M., a prominent citi- 
zen of Greensburg; John, deceased; and 
Catharine, of Greensburg, widow of Rev. 
James Crawford, who was an able minister 
in the Methodist Episcopal church. 

William S. \\'oodfill arrived in Greens- 
burg with his parents on his fifth birthday 
and here grew to manhood. He acquired a 
limited education in the public schools, and 
was essentially a self-educated as well as 
self-made man, having through experience, 
observation and reading become well in- 
formed. He learned the dry-goods business 
in his father's store, and in 1855 was ad- 
mitted to a partnership in the business, un- 
der the firm name of Woodfill & Son, oper- 
ations being carried on under that stvle 
until January, 1863, when the name was 
changed to Woodfill Brothers, the father re- 
tiring from business, while his sons, William 
and John, both now deceased, and James 
M.. became his successors. That firm re- 
lationship was continued until February. 
1869. when John died and the name of W. 
S. '\\'^oodfill & Coni])any was assumefl, the 
remaining brothers being the partners. 
.\gain a change occurred, in 18S2, to the 
name of J. M. Woodfill & Company, and 
on the 1st of January, 1883, James Wood- 
fi'l retired and a partnership was formed 
rnder the style of W, S. Woodfill & Sons, a 
connection that was maintained until the 
father's death, since which time the sons 



have conducted the business under the firm 
name of W. S. WoodfUl's Sons. They have 
for years carried on an extensive and re- 
munerative business, having a large general 
store well supplied with a stock of dry 
goods and carpets. This well equipped es- 
tablishment is the leading store of the kind 
in the county, and W. S. \Voodfill, who 
was so long connected therewith, through 
the channels of legitimate trade, became the 
leading capitalist of Greensburg. He ex- 
tended the field of his operations into other 
channels, and for many years successfully 
conducted a money-brokerage business. 
He was also one of the organizers, in 1875. 
of the Greensburg Gas & Electric Light 
Company, and served as its president from 
that time until his death. He owned four 
valuable farms in the county, within a few 
miles of Greensburg. and his judicious in- 
vestment of his capital brought to him 
handsome returns. 

On the iSth of November. 1857. was 
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Woodfill 
and Miss Sarah .\. Talhott. daughter of 
Henry H. Talbott, deceased, who was the 
first clerk of the county. Thev had four 
children: Elizabeth, wife of Rev. J. W. 
Turner, of Evansville, Indiana, a prominent 
and able minister of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church; William W'wi, who married 
Gertrude Elliott, and is associated in busi- 
ness with his Ijrother: Harry Talbott, who 
married T\atie Johnson and is the younger 
member of the firm of \^'. S. \\'oodfiirs 
Sons; and Web, who married Jessie Hart. 
He is a graduate of the Cincinnati Law 
School and is now a practicing attorney of 
Greensburg. The mother of this family, 
who was an earnest Christian woman and 
most devoted to her family, died Oct. 31, 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



371 



1898, respected and beloved by all who 
knew her. 

In his religious faith Mr. W'oodlill was a 
Methodist, having been for twenty years 
a faitliful member of the Centenary church, 
of which his father was one of the founders. 
He took a deep interest in its work and con- 
tributed liberally to its upbuilding, and to 
other commendable interests he gave his 
hearty co-operation. In politics he was a 
zealous Republican, but ofificial honors or 
emoluments had no charms for him. as he 
preferred to devote his energies to his busi- 
ness interests. When Greensburg Lodge, 
Xo. 103, I. O. O. F., was organized, in 
1851, he became one of its charter members, 
and was the last survivor of those who aided 
in its formation. He was also a charter 
member of Sexton Encampment, of Evans- 
ville. and he represented both lodge and 
encampment in the grand bodies. His life 
was well spent and his was a well rounded 
character, symmetrically developed through 
his interest in the various things that go to 
make up the sum of human existence. — the 
social, intellectual, material and moral du- 
ties of life. He bore an unassailal)le repu- 
tation, for he was ever true to duty, to the 
right and to all that was ennobling. Strong 
ties of friendshi]) bound him to many of the 
best citizens of the county, and though they 
have been severed in death his memory is 
still cherishe<l bv all who knew him. 



MIl.TOX F. P.VRSONS 

Milton F. Parsons, one of the most en- 
terprising and successful business men in 

his line in the state, is a resident of Greens- 
burg, and has gained the confidence and 



esteem of the jieople by his courteous man- 
ners and the care with which he conducts 
the details of his work, which is that of a 
funeral director. He has a large establish- 
ment, and employs cjnly the best and most 
modern methods, giving his personal atten- 
tion in each case and thus ensuring satis- 
faction to those who secure his services. 

Mr. Parsons was born near Rushville. 
Rush county. Indiana, April 6, i860, the 
son of Matthias and Mary A. (Dill) Parsons. 
His grandfather, John Parsons, was a native 
of Maryland, and came lo Indiana, taking 
up government land two miles north of 
Rushville, on which he settled and carried 
on farming until his <leath, at the age of 
sixty-four years. His son, Matthias, was 
born on the home farm, and spent his entire 
life in Rush county. He became the owner 
of two hundred and eighty acres of land, 
and was very successful as a farmer. He 
was married to Mary A. Dill, and they had 
a family of ten children, five sons and five 
daughters, all of whom received college 
educations with the exception of two, who 
died in infancy. J. L.. the eldest, was a 
minister in the Christian church, and now 
lives retired in Indianapolis, Indiana: John 
was accidentally killed when only twcnt\-- 
four years old; \N'illiani w;is a farmer in 
Rush county, Indiana, and died at forty 
years of age; Mary is the wife of J. P. Par- 
rish, of Indianapolis; Anna married .\. C. 
Shewey. of Chicago, and their son, Charles 
P., a dental surgeon of Chicago, was in 
the naval service, and took part in the bat- 
tle of Santiago; Dr. C. H. Parsons is a 
graduate of Bellevue (New York) Medical 
College and is a prominent surgeon of 
Rnsh\ille. Indiana; Carrie died when se\- 
enteen vears old: and Milton F. is the im- 



373 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



mediate subject of this review. The father 
died in September, 1895, at the age of sev- 
enty-eight years, and the mother died April 
7, 1895. 

The subject of this sketch is the youngest 
of the family. He spent his boyhood in 
Rush county. He was for one year a stu- 
dent at Butler University, and then entered 
De Pauw University, but was obliged to 
leave school in 1881, when in his junior 
year, on account of ill health. A year's 
sojourn in Denver proved very beneficial, 
and he then returned to the farm in Rush 
county, where he remained for five years. 
In 1889 he came to Greensburg, and for the 
succeeding eight years was in the employ of 
the Greensburg Furniture Company. He 
then opened an undertaking establishment 
of his own, on the north side of the square, 
removing to his present location, in the 
Knights of Pythias building, in 1899. Mr. 
Parsons graduated at the Chicago College 
of Embalmers July 8, 1897, and also holds a 
state certificate, granted December 16, 
1898. 

Mr. Parsons was appointed on the board 
of examiners by the state board of health in 
1899. He is a member of the Indiana Fun- 
eral Directors' Association, and was elected 
a member of the legislative committee for 
1899. He was also made an alternate to 
the national convention of funeral directors 
in the same year. Mr. Parsons is a promi- 
nent member of the Presbyterian church, in 
which he holds the office of deacon, and also 
belongs to the choir. He is active in 
church work, and in every position in which 
he is placed performs his duties to the sat- 
isfaction of the public and with credit to 
himself. Socially Mr. Parsons is a member 
of Greensburg Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M.; 



master of finance in Greensburg Lodge, No. 
148, K. of P.; and a member of Greenslnirg 
Lodge, I. O. O. F. 

]Mr. Parsons was married October 3, 
18S4, to Miss Anna D. Wooley, of Greens- 
burg, and has one son. Henry W.. now 
fourteen years of age, and a student in the 
high school. 



CHARLES KEMBLE. 

Charles Kemble, one of the oldest and 
respected citizens of Decatur county, In- 
diana, residing at Greensburg, is of sturdy 
English-Quaker stock. He is a son of 
Isaiah G. and Charlotte (Wood) Kemble, 
and was born in Clinton township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, January 4, 1826. William 
Kemble, the paternal grandfather of our 
subject, was a native of New Jersey, which 
was his home all his life, and there he died 
al)out 1795, at an advanced age. He was 
for many years engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits and was also a civil engineer. He was 
very proficient as a surveyor and was em- 
ployed in surveying and establishing the 
boundary lines of the state of Kentucky. 

His son Isaiah G. Kemljle. who was the 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
in New Jersey, in 1798. In 1821 he came 
west on a prospecting tour, entered a tract 
of government land in what afterward be- 
came Clinton township, Decatur county, 
and the year following he brought his family 
and located thereon permanently. He set 
about to clear up and improve his new farm, 
but his career was cut short, by an accident. 
He was killed seven years later, by the fall- 
ing of a tree, in 1829. By occupation he 
was a farmer all his life, and was industrious 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



373 



and progressive. He was a Democrat in 
political faith and was once a candidate for 
the legislature, but was defeated. lie was 
a devout and consistent Christian, dyint; in 
the faith and behef of life eternal. He mar- 
ried Charlotte Wood, and to them were 
bom two children. — Charles, and a daugh- 
ter who died in early life. 

Charles Kemhle was born, reared and 
educated in Clinton township. His schol- 
astic training was limited to the subscrip- 
, tion schools of his time: but he has ac- 
quired a good education through long years 
of general reading, study and observation. 
He possesses a good general library and is 
fond of reading, especially history, biog- 
raphy and poetry. He is also well \ ersed in 
the Scriptures, having been a student of the 
Bible for many years. 

He was actively and successfully engaged 
in agricultural pursuits in Clinton township 
until 1873 and he was also largely engaged 
in the collateral industry of grazing. In 
1873 he retired and removed to Greens- 
burg, Indiana, where he has since lived in 
practical retirement, enjoying the fnu'ts of 
a successful business career. 

Formerly Jie was a \Miig. but uixm the 
organization of the Republican party, in 
1854, joined its ranks and has since cast 
his vote and influence with that party. He 
served two terms as township trustee of 
Clinton township, and two terms as a mem- 
ber of the council of Greensburg, but never 
aspired to office, these offices being thrust 
upon him. Religiously he and his wife are 
members of the Centenary Methoflist Epis- 
copal church, of which they are regular at- 
tendants and liberal supporters. He is 
trustee and a very prominent member. In 
1856 he married Sarah E. Conde, a relative ' 



of the distinguished family bearing that 
name, and to them were born eight children, 
one of whom, Susan, is now living. 



Kb:\-. I'K.WK S. TIXCIII-R. 

This able minister, who has been in 
charge of the First Methodist Episcopal 
clufrch in Greensburg since 1897, was born 
at Aurora, Indiana, .\ugust 15, 1859. and is 
the son of Rev. Sampson Tincher, D. D.. 
and his wife. Mary (Bales) Tincher. 

The original name of the family was 
"Tunkcr," which became ]icrverted to its 
])rescnt form liy the Dutch residents in 
P'ennsyhania. among whom the ancestors 
of our subject settled at an early day. The 
first of the name in this country came over 
in the Mayflower, and his descendants are 
to be found in many of the western states. 
Obediah Tincher, grandfather of Frank S.. 
lived in Kentucky for a time, then removed 
to Hendricks county. Indiana, where he 
died twenty years later. He was a success- 
ful farmer and a local i^rcachcr in the Meth- 
nilim church, being ])riiininent in church af- 
fairs. 

The Rev. Sampson Tincher was born in 
Lawrence county. Indiana. January 20. 
1824. His :id\antages for schooling were 
very limited, but he diligently improved 
every ojiportunity for gaining knowledge, 
and when only nineteen years old entered 
the ministry, being ordained when twenty- 
one years of age, and he became a member 
of the Indiana conference October 12, 
1846. Dr. Tincher, during his long service 
of fifty years as a preaclwr of the gospel, had 
charge of many important churches, among 
them those of Indianapolis, .Aurora, Rising 



374 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Sun, Moore's Hill, Shelbyville and others. 
He was three times elected presiding elder, 
and was present at every meeting of his 
conference during the half century which 
he was connected with it, except the session 
of 1896. He was invited to preach a semi- 
centennial sermon at this meeting, but to 
his great regret his failing health did not 
jjermit him to accept. In his letter of 
declination he pathetically remarks: "The 
greatest privation and severest trial is to be 
unable so to do. — to see the army march- 
ing, waving the banner, and not be able to 
v.ield a sword." 

Dr. Tincher was a trustee of ]Moore"s Hill 
College, which conferred on him the title of 
Doctor of Divinity, and was president of 
the board for many years. He was a large- 
hearted, broad-minded man, an eloquent 
and convincing speaker and a most excel- 
lent pastor, sympathetic and in close per- 
sonal touch with the people. His home 
life was beautiful, and in all domestic and 
social relations he was an object of unusual 
aiYection. For such a character there can 
be but one end, and on December 26. 1896, 
at Belleville, Hendricks county, Indiana, 
this beloved father and pastor passed away, 
"ripe in the graces of the Spirit, ripe in age 
and ripe in character." 

Dr. Tincher was married August 11. 
1842, to Mary Bales, who bore him seven 
children, of whom only two, a daughter, 
]\Irs. Ennna Lowry, and Frank S., are now 
living. The mother died .\ugust 11. 1897. 
aged seventy-three years. 

The subject of this sketch was educated 
at Moore's Hill College, at which he gradu- 
ated in i88r, with the degree of Bachelor 
of Science. He began preaching the same 
year, but afterward studied theology in the 



Boston Theological School and at Drew 
Seminary, New Jersey. During his course 
at the latter institution he supplied the 
Methodist Episcopal church pulpit at Jer- 
sey City. In the fall of 1888 Mr. Tincher 
became pastor of the Seventh Street Meth- 
odist Episcopal church at Indianapolis, In- 
diana, where he remained three years. The 
next charge was at Liberty, Indiana, at 
which place he spent five years, the limit 
allowed by the church rules. The follow- 
ing three years he was pastor at Aurora. 
Indiana, and since 1897 has been pastor of 
the First Methodist Episcopal church at 
Greensburg. He is a man of much aljil- 
ity, efficient and untiring in his work, and 
possesses many of the admirable traits of 
his revered father. Wherever he has been 
stationed he has gained the confidence and 
affection of "his people, and has exerted a 
powerful influence for good over all classes 
of men. 

Mr. Tincher was marrieil June 21, 1881, 
to Lizzie A., daughter of the late William 
T. Christy, of Greensburg, and three chil- 
dren have been born to them: Mary, Imo- 
gen and Coyle C. Mr. Tincher is a trustee 
of Moore's Hill College, and, like his father, 
takes a great interest in that institution. 



EDWARD B. SEFTON. 

For more than three-score years the Sef- 
ton family has been closely associated with 
the upbuilding of Decatur county, and 
every one bearing the name has been noted 
for those traits of character which are 
marked in the ideal patriot and good citizen. 
It is believed that all of the numerous Sef- 
tons in this part of the United States are 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



375 



descended from one of four brothers who 
emigrated from Ireland to America about 
the same time, at the close of the last cen- 
tury. These brothers, named respectively 
William. James, Henry and Samuel, located 
in the state of Ohio, and three of the num- 
ber eventually came to Uecatur county, In- 
diana. The other one, Henr}-, a native of 
county Downs, Ireland, died of the cholera, 
in Ohio, in 1834. He left four daughters 
and two sons, one of the latter being Will- 
i;un ( )., father of the subject of this narra- 
tive. The other, Henry, and his sister, Mrs. 
Maria Scott, passed their entire lives in the 
Buckeye state, but all of the other brothers 
and sisters became residents of Decatur 
county. 

William O. Sefton was born in Butler 
county, Ohio, February 22. 1806. .\fter 
he settled in this county he adopted the let- 
ter O for a middle initial (it standing for 
his native state) in order to prevent compli- 
cation, as there was another farmer of the 
same name living in his own township. His 
marriage to Catherine Shuck, a lady of Ger- 
man lineage, was celebrated in Ohio. Octo- 
l)er 20, 1 83 1. She was born the same year 
as was her husband, her birth taking place 
a few months later, on the 15th of May. 
Seven years subsequent to their marriage 
they decided to trj- their fortunes in Decatur 
county, and, coming here, took up their 
abode in a log cabin which had been built 
on a tract of land entered by Henry Sefton. 
father of William O. Sefton. This prop- 
erty is within the present boundaries of 
Clinton township, and here our subject's 
parents spent the remaining years of their 
useful lives. In the course of time the old 
log cabin gave place to a comfortable 
dwelling, erected by the father, and other 



material improvements were made by him 
and his sons. All of them were industrious, 
frugal and honest, enjoying the respect of 
their neighbors and striving ever to perform 
their duty toward God and man. William 
O. Sefton owned about a thousand acres of 
land, the result of long years of toil and in- 
ilefatigable effort. In political belief, he 
was a Democrat, and his wife, who was a 
very lovable woman, was a member of the 
Methodist church. He passed to the silent 
land, October 29, 1868, and about a year 
later his devoted wife passed awav. October 
5, 1869. 

Of the five sons and four daughters born 
to that worthy couple all but two survive, — 
Michael, born September 9, 1836, having 
(lied June 15, 1869; and Elizabeth, born 
June 22, 1835, having passed away August 
19. 1880. Those living are Henry T.. now 
of Colorado, born January 25, 1833; Eliza, 
widow of Henderson Scott, born April 2, 
1834: Isaac, of Greensburg. Indiana, born 
September 28. 1837; Edw-ard B.; Mary, 
wife of Lewis Willey, of W^ashington town- 
ship, born April 19, 1840; Sarah, born Oc- 
tol)er 13. 1844. and now widow of John An- 
derson, and a resident of Greensburg; and 
William Warder, born August 11. 1846. 
and now living in Howard county. Indiana. 

Edward B. Sefton, who was the first child 
born to his parents after their arrival in this 
county, was born in the little log cabin, on 
the last day of January. 1839. There he 
was reared, and. after an interval of a num- 
ber of years, during which period he resided 
in the vicinity of Milford. he returned to his 
birthplace, and buying out the other heirs 
has since made his home here. The farm 
now comprises three hundred and thirty- 
"six acres of land, most of which is kept 



376 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



under cultivation. It is considered one of 
the most valuable homesteads in the town- 
ship of Clinton, and every thing about the 
place bears evidence of the careful attention 
of the owner, who is a practical farmer. 

In his early manhood Mr. Sefton married 
Caroline K. Smiley, and three sons and two 
daughters blessed their union. Wilhelmina 
is the wife of William Ryan, of Tipton, In- 
diana; Romie Michael is a resident of this 
county; Henry L. and Edward aid their 
father in the management of the home 
place; and Ella is the wife of Henry D. Ed- 
meades. Each of the children of our sub- 
ject received as good advantages in the way 
of an education and in practical training for 
the duties of life as he was able to afford, 
and now he is rewarded in seeing them use- 
ful and respected citizens. Both he and his 
estimable wife are deservedly esteemed, and, 
as they enter upon their declining days they 
may have the comforting assurance that 
they have nobly performed the part in life 
which was assigned to them. 



JAMES SEFTON. 



As is generally known, by the older resi- 
dents at least, the Seftons were among the 
first to settle permanently in Decatur coun- 
ty, and consequently they suffered much 
more hardship than did those who came 
even a few years later. Only the hardiest 
and bravest withstood the privations and 
discouragements of the frontier life, many 
returning to the more comfortable homes 
they had left in the east or south. But the 
Seftons, as will be seen, were of stanch 
hearts and determined will, and in the 
course of a few years of persistent eft'ort 



they made a foothold, and in time became 
wealthy and influential, as many of them are 
to-day. 

James Sefton is the only survivor of the 
family of William and Charlotte (Toppin) 
Sefton, natives of Ireland, the former born 
in county Down, about 1770. They were 
married in the Emerald Isle, and one son, 
John, was born to them ere they emigrated 
to America. Their other children com- 
prised Hugh, Heniy, Elizabeth, William, 
Samuel, Maria and James. After their ar- 
rival in' this country the young couple set- 
tled in Butler county, Ohio, and there, in 
dense woods, the father cleared a farm. 
Wishing to increase his possessions and be- 
lieving that he should be better prospered 
further west, he at length sold his farm, and 
with the hundred dollars which he received 
for the place he started with his family for 
Indiana, in 1824. Here, on what was then 
known as the "new purchase," he bought 
eighty acres of land, at one dollar and a 
quarter an acre. This property was situ- 
ated on section 8, of what now is Clinton 
township. After paying for his farm, all 
that the little family possessed was a few 
household utensils and necessities, besides 
the team and wagon in which their tedious- 
ly long journey had been made. It was of 
small moment that their scanty stock of 
money was now exhausted, for there was 
no opportunity to purchase suppHes, how- 
ever much needed. While they were bus- 
ily at work clearing a small tract of land 
and planting and raising a crop of corn, the 
family had no place of shelter other than 
their wagon, but in the autumn a primitive 
log cabin was erected. Not a board nor 
nail was to be had; but whereas many of 
the cabins of subsequent settlers had no 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



377 



lloor but the ground, this one boasted of 
one made of puncheon! Game was abund- 
ant; indeed, the squirrels were so numer- 
ous that in spite of the heroic efforts of the 
family most of their valued corn was stolen 
by the pestiferous little animals. For a 
long time the pioneers had no wheat or 
Hour, and the corn which they raiseil luul to 
be pounded or ground in the most primitive 
fashion, and it was the staple article of food. 
Such clothes as they had for years 
were made from tlax grown in the 
fields, carded, spun. and w()\en by 
hand, and later, when a few enter- 
prising farmers introtluced some sheep 
into the county the wool was subjected to 
much the same process as the flax had been. 
With the as.sistance of his sons, William Sef- 
ton cleared his land and developed a valua- 
able farm, and ere his death he witnessed a 
truly wonderful transformation of what had 
been a wilderness. He was summoned to 
his eternal rest in i85_', and so well had he 
filled his place in the connnunily that he 
was long and deeply mourned. His first 
wife, the mother of our subject, died in 
Ohio, and his second wife, by whom he had 
one son, Thomas, survived him fur a num- 
ber of years. 

James Sefton, who was the yovuigest child 
of the first marriage, w:is born in iiutler 
county. Ohio, March jo. iSji. and was 
about three years old when he was brought 
\o this county. Of course there were no 
schools here for many years, and he was 
nearly grown when the first ones were insti- 
tuted. For a few weeks each year, then, he 
was allowed to seek after wisdom, but, be- 
yond learning how to read and write and 
do simple ])roblems in arithmetic, he has 
no indebtedness to the pul)lic school. He 



remained on the home farm until after 
the death of his father, when he became the 
owner of the place. Later he sold the 
property and bought the farm in Clinton 
township which has been his home for 
mail}- years. By good management and 
economy he has surrounded himself and his 
family with many of the comforts of mod- 
ern life, yet his thoughts often traverse the 
rugged pathway his feet have trodden and 
he sometimes even sighs as he recalls the 
days of his boyhood, when, though poor 
and hard-working, he enjoyed s])lendid 
health and many a simple pleasure, in the 
ha])py companionship of the brothers and 
sisters who have long since passed away. 

On the 15th of September, 1842, Mr. 
Sefton married Mary .\nn Power, who died 
on the 8th of l^ecember, 1844, and left a 
daughter, Martha P., who is now the wife 
of McKenney Carter. The second wife of 
our subject bore the maiden name of Har- 
riet Kiffe. She was spared to him for many 
)ears, nol)ly sharing his joys and sorrows, 
but at length she was called from his side 
by the angel of death, December 2, 1898.' 
Of her seven children two have passed 
away, namely: Martha and Oliver, and 
those living are David F., John \V., Chris- 
topher A., Charles M. and Louisa C. They 
are citizens of excellent standing in the sev- 
eral conmuniities in which they dwell, and 
are worthv children of a noble father. 



TACOP. COOMBS. 



Jacob Coombs is one of the honored jiio- 
neers of Decatur county, his home having 
been here for almost three-score years, dur- 
ing which time he has been a witness of the 



378 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



wonderful development which has taken 
place here, and has himself been no unim- 
portant factor in the transformation of the 
wilderness to a fertile, beautiful farming 
country. His stories of the early days when 
hardships and privations of every descrip- 
tion were regular experiences, are very in- 
teresting, and his hearers can scarcely 
realize that such things were the common 
lot of the frontiersmen here. 

The father of our subject, William 
Coombs, was a native of New Jersey, his 
birth having occurred in Salem county. He 
was a young man when he came with his 
father to Union county, Indiana, and not 
long after their arrival the elder man was 
drowned while attempting to cross Mill 
creek, on returning home from Cincinnati, 
where he had gone for needed supplies. 
William Coombs married Mary DuBois and 
became the father of eleven children, of 
whom four sons and one daughter are yet 
living. Of these Jacob is the eldest, and 
Joel, the next younger, is a resident of Leb- 
anon, Indiana, while William A. resides in 
Ottumwa, Iowa; Allen is a resident of 
Zionsville, Indiana, and Almira lives at 
Greenup, Illinois. All of the brothers and 
sisters who have passed away were married 
and left children, except one sister, who 
died at the age of twelve years. William 
Coombs, like his father, met his death in an 
accident, as he was killed while assisting in 
the raising of a barn. 

Jacob Coombs of this sketch was born 
upon a farm situated about three miles east 
of Fairfield, Union county, and continued 
to live at home until he was twenty-two 
years of age, when he was united in wed- 
lock to the lady of his choice, Rebecca 
Humphrey. The young couple began 



housekeeping upon a farm in Union county, 
and dwelt there until Februaiy 25, 1842, 
on which date they came to their new home 
on the property where our subject is yet 
living. No improvements whatever had 
Ijeen made on this land at that time, and 
every tree was yet standing as nature had 
left it. In the dense underbrush the wolves 
howled at night and wild turkeys and other 
game were plentiful. With a brave heart 
Mr. Coombs set about the great task which 
was before him, and, year by year, the for- 
ests disappeared under his sturdy ax, and 
well tilled fields brought forth abundant 
harvests under his skilful care. 

In all his undertakings Mr. Coombs 
found a true helpmate in his devoted wife, 
who was called to the better land on the 
28th of February, 1856, after just fourteen 
years of life in the wilds of Fugit township. 
She was the mother of six children, of 
whom the eldest, Mrs. Ann Maria Kelsay, 
now keeps house for her venerable father, 
being assisted in this by her sister, Jane H. 
Mary, born July 12, 1844, married Daniel 
Higdon, and died August 28, 1885. John 
William, born January 4, 1842, died July 
30, 1849. Sarah D., born April 18, 185 1, 
died November 10, 1875. Joel, born Sep- 
tember 18, 1853, died January 30, 1864. 
Subsequent to the death of his first wife, in 
1858, Mr. Coombs wedded Permelia Hum- 
phrey, and together they pursued life's jour- 
ney for thirty-seven years. She was sum- 
moned to her reward December 12, 1895, 
and is mourned by a large circle of friends. 

For sixteen years Mr. Coombs served his 
neighbors and friends as a justice of the 
peace, meeting the responsibilities of that 
position with dignity and impartiality. 
Etlucation. temperance and religion have 



DECATUR COUNTY 



379 



been given their due proportion of his at- 
tention and all righteous measures have re- 
ceived his earnest support. He and the 
members of his household have long been 
prominent in the work of the Christian 
church, and all who know them respect 
them highly. 



BENJAMIX JENKINS. 

Could it be written in detail, the history 
of Benjamin Jenkins, who for more than 
two-score years has been engaged in busi- 
ness at St. Paul, Decatur county, would 
prove of unusual interest to the general 
reader, and those who know him well will 
peruse with pleasure the following record 
of the chief events in his eventful life. 

It is believed that the family of which he 
is a sterling representative was founded in 
the United States in colonial days, by three 
brothers, one of whom located in New York 
state, one in Virginia and the third in South 
Carolina. David Jenkins, born in the Old 
Dominion, December 2, 1798, emigrated to 
Muskingum county, Ohio, in early man- 
hood, and there met and married Phoebe 
Ann Quinby. She was a native of New 
Jersey, her birth having occurred October 
15, 1806, and she had gone to the Buckeye 
state with her parents in childhood. She 
departed this life about 1832, and Mr. Jen- 
kins later married again and had children 
by his second union. He lived to attain a 
ripe age, his death taking place on the ist 
of March, 1877. 

Benjamin Jenkins, who was born in Mus- 
kingum county, Ohio, January 7, 1825, 
was but seven years of age when he was 
bereft of a loving mother. From that time 
until he was grown he lived with his grand- 



father, Benjamin Quinby. who also pro- 
vided a home for the two sisters of our sub- 
ject. Elizabeth, the elder, married John B. 
Holmes, and died July 23, 1868. Jane 
.\nn. born .\ugust 8, 1829, married a Mr. 
Bennett, and now resides in Rushville, In- 
diana. In 1837 Benjamin Quinby, who 
was a tailor by trade, came to Indiana, 
bringing with him his three grandchildren. 
After remaining in Rush county about eigh- 
teen months he removed to Adams town- 
ship, Decatur county, where he continued 
to work at his trade, more or less, until his 
death, and became a much esteemed citizen 
of his community. He was born in Sep- 
tember, 1776, and died February 11, 1853; 
and his estimable wife, whose birth had oc- 
curred October 2, 1782, lived until Septem- 
ber 20, 1864. 

Thus, as has been noted, our subject 
passed twelve years of his life in Ohio, his 
native state, and was about fourteen years 
of age when he arrived in Decatur county, 
where, for more than three-score years he 
has made his home. He was all that a duti- 
ful son could be to his kind grandparents, 
with whom he remained until he was in his 
twenty-third year. About that time the 
United States engaged in war with Mexico, 
and the young man, impulsive and patriotic, 
desired to enlist to fight for his country. 
Accordingly, in September, 1847, we find 
him duly enrolled as a private in Company 
E, Fifth Indiana \'olunteers, and soon on 
the way to Vera Cruz. Under the leader- 
ship of Genera] James H. Lane, his regi- 
ment proceeded to the city of Mexico, 
where they arrived just too late to take part 
in the campaign there, as the place had re- 
cently surrendered to General Scott; but 
there was still much to do in the way of 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



preserving order and in adjusting affairs 
satisfactorily. When he and his comrades 
were no longer needed, they were ordered 
home. Mr. Jenkins, however, had had just 
sufficient adventure and experience in a for- 
eign country to give him a strong desire to 
see something more of the world, and he 
soon determined to seek the Pacific coast, 
whither thousands of eager gold-hunters 
were already wending their way. That 
long and perilous journey across the great 
prairies and deserts and mountains of the 
west has been often described, though never 
too vividly, and here it will suffice to say 
that the young man performed the journey 
in safety, and at the end of two years re- 
turned home, by way of the isthmus of 
Panama. He had met with fair success, 
financially, and for some time was engaged 
in business at St. Omer, Decatur county, 
but in 1857 established a drug store in St. 
Paul, and still manages it, thus being one 
of the oldest druggists in the state, in years 
of continuous enterprise. 

About the time that he attained his ma- 
jority, Mr. Jenkins married Ann Burns, 
who was born in Rush county^ March 25, 
1827, and died in 1861, leaving four chil- 
dren, namely: John Warren, of Kansas 
City; Mrs. Hester Ann Trimble, a widow, 
now living with her venerable father; Marie 
.\ntoinette, wife of Clarence W. Adams; 
and Edwin E., a druggist of Shelbyville, In- 
diana. In 1862 Mr. Jenkins married Mrs. 
Ellen Kerr, nee Anspraugh, but death 
claimed her in 1864. 

In his youth our suljject had extremely 
limited educational advantages, but he 
l^roved in his own experience that learning 
of the most valualile kind may be acquired 
outside the school-room. Not onlv has he 



been a great reader and student of human 
nature and of nature in her various manifes- 
tations: he has learned much in traveling 
and in observation. It has been his privi- 
lege to have crossed the Rocky mountains 
five times, and the Alleghanies three times, 
and in the autumn of 1889 he again visited 
the city of Mexico, which, after more than 
two-score years, he found greatly improved, 
while many of the old landmarks could yet 
be found, much as when he was there a 
young soldier. His business life being 
necessarily quiet and monotonous, he has 
given some time every year to- the pleasant 
and healthful out-door sports, especially 
those of hunting and fishing. As an 
angler he bears quite an enviable reputation 
and in this pursuit has visited many of the 
best fishing grounds of this and neighbor- 
ing states. 

Politically Mr. Jenkins has been a life- 
long Democrat. As a citizen he has ever 
striven to do his duty toward his country 
and toward his neighbors, using his influ- 
ence in the maintenance of law, order and 
good government. During the civil war, 
when Indiana was threatened with an inva- 
sion by the rebel forces, he joined the 
Seventy-sixth Regiment of Indiana Infantry 
and assisted in repelling the enemy. Hav- 
ing been uniformly upright and honorable 
in all of his relations with his fellow men, 
^Ir. Jenkins enjoys and richl}- deserves the 
love and esteem of all who know him. 



GEORGE H. DUNN. 

Lieutenant George H. Dunn, a promi- 
nent citizen of Greensburg. and one of the 
most popular men in his section of country. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



381 



comes of good old Scotch-Irish stock, and 
combines the admirable traits of those 
sturdy races with the progressiveness and 
loyalty of an American citizen. His grand- 
father, Gresham Dunn, was born in Ireland, 
and emigrated to the United States in the 
early colonial times. The family was a 
large one, and while a nuinl)er of them 
fought, both as privates and officers, in the 
war for independence, others came over 
from England with General Howe, as of- 
ficers in the British army. Gresham Dunn's 
father served as king's high sheriff in New- 
Jersey, and lost his life by being thrown 
from his horse. 'Joseph B. Dunn, an uncle 
of our subject's father, held the rank of 
captain, as aid-de-cam]) to ( icnenil Wash- 
ington, and also served on the staff of Gen- 
eral St. Clair in the war of 1812-14. He 
was killed at the battle of Papacanoose. 
Another prominent military man of this 
family was killed in a duel, near Cincinnati, 
in 1793. 

The Hon. George H. Dunn, father of 
our subject, was born in Xcw York city, 
where the family settled on coming from 
luigland, and where his father, Gresham 
Dunn, died. George H. was given an ex- 
cellent collegiate education, and early in the 
'20s came west and located in Cincinnati, 
later removing to Lawrenceburg, where he 
died in 1856, aged fifty-eight years. He 
w as a prominent lawyer, a brilliant speaker, 
and acquired a national reputation as a 
statesman and a man of business. He filled 
many high offices, being at various times 
secretary of state, judge of circuit court, 
and represented the fourth congressional 
tlistrict in congress. He was for a number 
of years president of the Indiana State 
Bank, and was chief promoter of the Big 



Four Railroad, running from Indianapolis 
to Lawrenceburg. He was the first presi- 
dent of the company, serving as such until 
his death. He had a family of eight chil- 
dren. His wife's maiden name was Mary 
,Gibson. She was born in Indiana and was 
the daughter of Thomas and Mary Gibson. 

The subject of this sketch was born in 
Indianapolis, Indiana, October 28, 1841, 
and had the misfortune to lose his father 
when he was only twelve years old. When 
of a suitable age he entered Kenyon Col- 
lege, at (iambier, Ohio, and was a student 
there at the l)reaking out of the civil war. 
He enlisted in 1861, in Company C, Thirty- 
fifth Indiana N'olunteers, and served two 
years and cighi months as private and as 
first lieutenant of his company, taking part 
in the campaigns ending in the battle of 
Mission Ridge. When the war closed he 
returned home, and soon afterward located 
at Greensburg, where he has resided ever 
since. He was employed as bookkeeper, but 
his active interest in politics brought him 
into public notice, and he was appointed 
postmaster under Grant. He retained that 
office during the administrations of Grant, 
Arthur, Hayes and Garfield, for seventeen 
consecutive years, and for one year under 
Cleveland, going out in 1885. Mr. Dunn 
subsequently engaged in the jilumbing and 
gas-fitting business until 1897, when he was 
appointed deputy clerk in the United States 
collector's office, which position he is now 
filling. 

In all the relations of life Mr. Dunn has 
acquitted himself with honor, and deserv- 
edly holds a high place in the esteem of his 
fellow citizens. He is a prominent member 
of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and 
the Grand Army of the Republic. He is a 



383 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



public-spirited man, and always in sym- 
pathy with movements intended to benefit 
his community. 

Mr. Dunn was married February 14, 
1865, to Anna Trimple, of Gambier, Ohio, 
daughter of Professor John Trimple, of 
Kenyon College, and they have one son, 
George H., Jr. 



E. G. SCHULTZ. 



The modern spirit of business push and 
enterprise is nowhere in Greensburg to be 
seen to better advantage than in the ex- 
tensive furniture establishment of which the 
subject of this article is proprietor. The 
same upright principles which animate him 
in public life are carried into each of his 
business transactions, thus winning for him 
the just confidence of his patrons. Though 
his has not been an extremely eventful life, 
there are numerous lessons to be gleaned 
from it, and a careful review of its details 
doubtless would serve as an incentive to 
many a young man who has his own way 
to make in the world. The following out- 
line of career will be of interest to his hosts 
of lifelong friends in this thriving city. 

A son of William and Margaret (Schwier) 
Schultz, our subject is of German descent 
on l)oth the paternal and maternal lines, 
as their names plainly indicate. The father 
was Ijorn in Ripley county, Indiana, in 
1843, and continued to dwell there until 
1870, when he removed to Greensburg. 
In his early manhood he learned the trade 
of a carpenter, and later took and executed 
contracts for building. In iSfio, in com- 
pany with his l)rother George, he succeeded 
in organizing what was known as the Union 



Furniture Company, of Batesville, a stock 
company of which he was made president. 
The brothers were \ery influential in the 
actual working out of the plan and at- 
tended personally to the erection of the 
factory and the management of business. 
After some ten years of flourishing trade, 
carried on in spite of the depressing war 
period which inter\-ened, the factory was 
destroyed by fire, and l)oth brothers lost 
heavily. Soon after that event they settled 
in Greensburg, and, under the firm name 
of George & \\"illiam Schultz, engaged in 
the furniture and undertaking business to- 
gether for five years. At the expiration of 
that time George Schultz withdrew from 
the firm and went to the west, while the 
other partner continued to conduct the 
business alone for a few years. In April, 
1899, he retired, and is passing his declin- 
ing days in quietness and freedom from 
care. For a quarter of a century he was a 
member of the Centenary Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and now is identified with the 
First Methodist Episcopal church, of this 
city. His wife, the mother of our subject, 
departed this life in 1896. They were the 
parents of two sons and a daughter. One 
son died in infancy, and the daughter, 
Hattie, is the wife of Patrick Ewing, of this 
county. 

The birth of E. G. Schultz occurred April 
29, 1868, in Batesville, Ripley county, In- 
diana, and as he was brought to Greensburg 
at the age of two years he remembers no 
other home. Here he grew to manhood, 
attending the common schools until he was 
fifteen, when he commenced working in a 
planing mill. At the end of a year spent in 
that employment he became a clerk in the 
freight office of the Big Four Railroad, and 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



served for four years in that capacity. His 
fidelity and general trustworthiness placed 
him in line for promotion, and during a 
period of three and one-half years he was a 
fireman for the same corporation, and soon 
would have been placed in charge of an 
engine, as engineer, had he not obtained a 
ninety-days' leave of absence, and ere its 
close had resigned from the com])any"s 
em])loy in order to join his father in that 
gentleman's long established business here. 
They were associated until recently, wdien, 
as previously stated, the senior partner 
withdrew, and the firm is now known as 
that of K. ti. Schultz & Company. The 
business, now managed solely by E. G. 
Schultz, has grown to large proportions, 
and few better locations or more extensive 
stocks of goods can be found in the state. 
The handsome store has a street frontage of 
forty feet, while it extends back one hun- 
dred and ten feet, and an additional space, 
thirty by sixty feet in dimensions, affords 
necessary storage room. The second fioor 
of the building is also utilized for various 
de])artments, and three or more clerks are 
emi)loyed to attend to the needs of custom- 
ers. Mr. Schultz is a careful, painstaking un- 
dertaker, and at the time of his examination 
by the Indiana stale board of health his 
standing was ninety-eight i)er cent. 

He is a member of the Indiana Funeral 
Directors' .Association. 

Fraternally Mr. Schultz belongs to 
(ireensburg Lodge. No. 476. F. & .A. M.; 
(ireensburg Lodge. Xo. 103, 1. O. (). F., 
and Sexton Encani])ment, Xo. 4_', of the 
same order: Greensburg Lodge. K. of P.; 
I'e(|uamiock Lodge. Xo. 183. L O. R. AL; 
and the ()rder of the Fastern Star. His 
marriage to Miss Martha Hightower was 



celebrated in this city in 1892. They have 
a pleasant home and enjoy the esteem of a 
large circle of friends. 



AXDRl'W M. WTLLOUGTir.Y. 

.\ndrew M. Willoughby. editor and ])ro- 
])rietor of the Greensburg Daily and 
Weekly Review, and mayor of the city of 
Greensburg, was bom April i. 1857. After 
acquiring a public-school education he be- 
gan learning the printer's trade, .\ugust 17. 
1S74. and from that time until he came to 
Greensburg. in 1883. he served in various 
capacities in connection with the leading 
metropolitan journals of the central west. 
From the time he began in the printing 
business, in 1874. up to the present, Mr. 
Willoughby has never been out of work a 
day and never was discharged. In 1885 he 
purchased an interest in The Greensburg 
Review, and has been continuously con- 
nected with the newspaper business longer 
than any other newsjiaper man in Greens- 
l)urg; and his extended experience is .shown 
in the excellence of the papers he publishes. 
The Daily Review is an eight-column folio: 
the Weekly a seven-column quarto. In 
politics the papers are emphatically Repub- 
lican. Mr. Willoughby is a member of the 
Indiana Editorial Association and repre- 
sents the fourth congressional district on 
the legislative committee. In i8g8 he was 
elected mayor of Greensburg for a term of 
four years. 

Mr. Willoughby has been twice married, 
and by his first union, with Miss Minnie 
Christy, daughter of Samuel Christy, late 
cashier of the Citizens' X'ational Rank, of 
Greensburg, he had one son. Raymond C. 



384 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



On the I2th of February, 1895, the mother 
died, in Greeley, Colorado, and on the 
22d of November, 1898, Mr. Willoughby 
married Miss Clara Hallowell, an estimable 
lady of Harrison, Ohio. 



HENRY KAMMERLING. 

One of the most popular business men of 
Greensburg is the gentleman of whom the 
following lines are penned. A native of 
Germany, he possesses the honest, indus- 
trious traits of character for which the Ger- 
man people are noted, and during his long 
residence in the United States he has be- 
come thoroughly imbued with the spirit of 
western push and enterprise which marks 
our successful citizens in every vocation. 

He is of the third generation who have 
been engaged in the same line of business, 
all meeting with a fair measure of prosper- 
itv. His parents, Simon and Catherine 
(Herdt) Kammerling, and his paternal 
grandfather also, were natives of the town 
of Pirmasens, Bavaria, Germany, and spent 
their entire lives there. Simon Kammer- 
ling carried on a large meat shop and butch- 
ering business for many years, and em- 
ployed his sons in their early }outh. Five 
of his eight children sought homes in the 
United States, Fred, the eldest, coming 
across the Atlantic in i860. He is a well- 
to-do farmer near Greensburg at present, 
and Jacob, who accompanied his brother 
Ignatz to this country in 1866. is likewise 
occupied in agriculture, his farm being lo- 
cated in Rush county. Indiana. Ignatz. 
who formerly was a dealer in cattle and 
meat, is now taking contracts for street im- 
])rovements, his home being in this city. 



Dora came to the land of promise in 1871. 
The birth of Henry Kammerling took 
place in Pirmasens, Bavaria, March 9, 1857. 
and. in accordance with the law of his 
country, he attended the public schools un- 
til he was fourteen years of age. He had 
given earnest attention to everything bear- 
ing upon the subject of the United States, 
and. like his elder brothers, he determined 
to cast in his lot with the people of this 
favored land as soon as he was permitted to 
do so. Landing on these shores when less 
than fifteen years of age, he came direct to 
Greensburg, and, feeling the need of a 
knowledge of the English language, he set 
about the task of mastering it, finding a 
patient and able instructor in the person of 
the accomplished wife of Judge S. A. 
Bonner, fornierly a successful teacher. 
The voung man learned very rapidly, 
and, being ambitious, he ne.xt took up 
the study of law, his preceptors being the 
late Judge Miller and Colonel Gavin. In 
the course of time, he was admitted to the 
bar of this county, by Judge Bonner. For 
a year thereafter, or until 1877. he traveled 
for a Cincinnati house, after which he was 
induced to join his brother Ignatz in the 
butchering and pork-packing business. He 
continued in partnership with him until 
1879, after which he embarked in inde- 
pendent business in this city, and for six 
years was alone in the management of his 
afifairs. In 1885 he became a member of 
the firm of Kammerling & Link, and it was 
not until 1890 that he again started a store 
of his own. Since then he has conducted 
a fine market and pork-packing establish- 
ment on the west side of the public square. 
Everything about the premises is always 
found in a neat condition, and a high grade 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



of meats of all kinds is kept. Uniform 
courtesy and genuine desire to please, bring 
a liberal patronage from the public, and also 
account, to some extent, for the finanacial 
success of our subject. 

On the i8th of August. 1880, the mar- 
riage of Mr. Kammerling and Miss Emma 
Doles, of this city, was solemnized. They 
are the parents of one child. Ruth K. by 
name. Mr. and Mrs. Kammerling are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church and take an 
earnest part in religious work. He for- 
merly belonged to the .\ncient Order of 
United Workmen, at the time that a lodge 
of that order was located here, and at pres- 
ent he is associated with the Greensburg 
Lodge. Xo. 148. Knights of Pythias. 



W'TLLT.VM .\. WII,I.I.\MS. 

Xo family of Decatur county is more 
worthy of mention in its history than the 
one to which the subject of this article be- 
longs. He is a native of the township in 
which he resides. Clinton, his liirth having 
occurred on New Year's day. 1838. and dur- 
ing nearly all his life he has dwelt here and 
been actively connected with its develop- 
ment and progress. 

TJke the majority of the old settlers of 
this county, the Williams family came here 
on the tide of immigration which swept 
from the southeastern to the northwestern 
states in the early part of the century. V<\\\- 
iani I.. Williams, grandfather of our sub- 
ject, located at first in Rush county. al)out 
two and a half miles north of Sandusky. In- 
diana, upon arriving in the Hoosier state, 
but subsequently removed to Clinton 
township. Decatur county. He lived to at- 



tain an advanced age. dying at the home of 
his son, Darius C. many \ears ago. His 
wife had departed this life several years 
pre\iously. and of their three cliiklren, Jus- 
tine, the only daughter, died when young, 
and James H., who never married, died a 
number of years ago. The remaining son. 
Darius C. is the father of William .\. Will- 
iams. He was born in Kentucky. Septem- 
ber 15. 1831. came to this state in youth, 
and has passed the greater part of his life 
in this township, where he is known by 
everyone and well liked by all. For a wife 
I he chose Mrs. Mar\' J. Swails. who had for- 
I merly been a Miss Knox. A son and a 
daughter were born to this estimable 
couple, named Wiliam A. and Ida J. The 
latter died when twenty-two years of age. 
and the mother also was summoned to the 
better land. 

Thus it is seen that the only male repre- 
sentatives of this line of the Williams family 
ar« Darius C. and William .\. Williams. 
Ever since the latter reached maturity they 
have been associated in business, and their 
relations in every res])ect have been |oer- 
fectly harmonious and pleasant. They deal 
extensively in grain and live stock, buying 
and selling, and have succeeded in building 
up a profital)le business. Their standing in 
this community is of the best, and fairness 
I marks all of their transactions. They are the 
owners of a fine farm in Clinton townshi)). 
' and have capital invested in various enter- 
prises. Both are active and liberal Repub- 
I licans. thoroughly understanding the prin- 
j ciples which the party advocates. In 1894 
I our subject was honored by being elected to 
j the imjiortant office of trustee of Clinton 
township, and in this cai)acity he has made 
an en\iable record. He entered upon his 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



duties in August, 1895, succeeding Oliver 
C. Sefton. 

On the 19th of Septemljer. 1881, Mr. 
Williams married Miss Julia F. Rogers, 
who was born February 10, 1858. Her 
father died when she was an infant, and in 
1897 her mother was summoned to her re- 
ward. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have one 
child, Gertrude F., who was born December 
18, 1883, and is now a student in the public 
school of this district. The family have a 
pleasant home and many friends. 



HENRY LINK. 



Henry Link, a successful business man 
and worthy citizen of Greensburg, was born 
in Pirmasens, Bavaria, Germany, March 
20, 1854. He is the son of John and Eliza- 
beth (Baker) Link. The father was a far- 
mer in Germany, where he spent his entire 
life, dying there in 1885, and leaving a 
widow and three sons, Jacoli, Christopher 
and Henry. 

The latter was educated in the public 
schools of his native city, and when only fif- 
teen years of age started in life for himself, 
learning the butchering trade. He came to 
this county in 1877, and in October, 1877, 
located at Greensburg, where for two years 
he was in the employ of Ignatz Kammer- 
ling. The following six years he worked 
for Zoller Brothers. Li 1886 he formed a 
partnership with Henry Kammerling in the 
butchering business, the firm being known 
as Kammerling & Link. He remained in 
this connection for five \'ears, when he 
opened a ]ilace of his own, on the north side 
of the ]iublic square, where he carries on a 
large retail trade. He owns a small farm 



just out of town, and deals extensively in 
live stock. He also owns a beautiful piece 
of property south of the city limits. In ad- 
dition to other business interests he has a 
large cold-storage plant. He is a progres- 
sive and liberal-minded citizen, and highly 
esteemed by all who know him. Like many 
of our most successful men, he began life 
with no capital but his willing hands and 
active brain, and has amassed a comfortable 
competence by steady work, economy and a 
wise investment of his earnings. 

Mr. Link was married in September, 
1883, to Elizabeth Kock, a native of Minne- 
sota. They have seven children, four sons 
and three daughters. Mr. Link's mother, 
who came to this country about thirteen 
years ago, makes her home with him. All 
the family are members of the Presbyterian 
church, and are active in its work. Mr. 
Link belongs to Decatur Lodge, No. 103. 
I. O. O. F. 



\MLLIAM A. WATSON. 

William A. Watson is a good example of 
the modern, enterprising business man, and 
Greensburg numbers him among her most 
public-S]5irited citizens. He was willing to 
begin at the bottom rounds of the ladder 
leading to success, and by unremitting en- 
deavor work his way gradually upward, and 
thus, now in his early prime, he is already 
reaping his rich reward, both in financial 
prosperity and in influential position. 

The paternal grandparents of our sub- 
ject, James and Mary (Huggins) Watson, 
were natives of Norwich, England. James 
Watson was a ship carpenter l)y trade, at 
which calling he was employed until 1843, 
when he, with his familv, emigrated to 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



387 



America. Settling first at Amboy. New- 
Jersey, he worked as a carpenter on the 
railroad, and subsequently was similarly 
engaged at New Market. New Jersey. In 
1848 he came to Indiana, and found em- 
ployment in general building until his 
death, which event occurred at his home in 
Shelby ville, in 1856, when he was forty 
years of age. His widow, now a resident 
of this city, has attained the advanced age 
of eighty-six years. In their native land 
they were members of the Methodist 
church, but after coming to the United 
States, they became identified with the 
Presbyterian denomination. Their two 
sons and only daughter, Charlotte, were 
born in England, and the latter is the wife 
of Rolxsrt H. Elliott, a stationary engineer 
in Indianapolis. James, the elder son. and 
also a resident of the state capital, holds a 
position as engineer on the Rig Four Rail- 
road. R. H. Watson, father of our subject, 
was employed as a fireman and engineer on 
the same railroad for thirteen consecu- 
tive years. In 1869 he embarked in the 
foundr\' and machine business at Greens- 
burg, and has since enjoyed a large trade, 
his specialty being the repairing of machin- 
ery- and the construction of engines. He 
also owns and operates a flourishing brick 
plant, located on Jackson avenue, and, al- 
together, employment is given to a number 
of men and boys. For years ^Ir. \\'atson 
has been an active member of t-lie Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, and at present is one 
of its trustees. He stands high in the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging 
to Decatur Lodge No. 103. and L. Sexton 
Encampment. No. 42, in both of which he 
has occupied official positions, and in 1876 
he was honored by being chosen to repre- 



sent the home lodge in the grand lodge of 
the state, at Indianapolis. He is a member 
of the Daughters of Rebekah, as was his 
wife, formerly Sophia Ward, of this county. 
Their only daughter. Henrietta, is the wife 
of Edward E. Gaunt, of Clemons, Iowa. 

William A. Watson w-as born in this 
county, January 27. 1863. and spent six 
years in Indianapolis, then coming to 
Greensburg with his parents. From his 
boyhood he worked in his father's foundry, 
becoming a thorough, practical machinist. 
In 1890 he started out independently, and 
for a period was engaged in the business 
of sinking gas wells, having Mr. Williams 
as a partner for a few months. Mr. Watson 
is now the proprietor of a plumbing and 
gas-fitting establishment in this city. He 
carries a large and well selected stock of 
goods in his line, and takes contracts for 
putting in plumbing, gas and steam pipes 
in all kinds of jiublic buildings and ]>rivate 
residences, not only in this immediate lo- 
cality but in adjoining states as well. He 
gives employment to from ten to eighty-five 
men. according to the number of contracts 
which he has on hand. Among other con- 
tracts w-hich he has filled during the past 
few- years was that of putting in water mains 
and piping at Lancaster, Ohio, the work 
amounting to nine thousand dollars, and 
he it w-as who furnished the plumbing for 
Hanover College and the gas-fitting in the 
Odd Fellows' Home, in this city. Mr. Wat- 
son took a leading and active part in the 
establishment of the Odd Fellows Or- 
phans' Home at Greensluu-g. and it may be 
accredited him as being the prime mover 
in bringing before the peo]ile the question 
of the establishment of the home here. 

In his political convictions Mr. Watson 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



is a stanch Republican, and for some four 
years he ser\-ecl as a councihnan from the 
third ward. Fraternally he is a member 
and the present vice-grand of Decatur 
Lodge, No. 103, I. O. O. F., and belongs 
to Sexton Encampment No. 42, and to the 
Daughters of Rebekah. On the i6th of 
July, 1884, he wedded Miss Eva Bell, of 
this city. Three children, one of whom is 
deceased, were born to this worthy couple. 
Ernest, wdiose birth took place October 10. 
1886, and Ethel, born April i, 1888, are 
bright, promising children, now attending 
school. Mr. and Mrs. Watson are members 
of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal 
church, and loyally aid in enterprises calcu- 
laied to benefit their fellow men. 



BENJAMIN F. LINCH. 

Benjamin F. Linch was born in Franklin 
county. Indiana. April 2. 1828, a son of 
Philip and Catherine Linch. both of whom 
were natives of Virginia, in which state 
they were married. Pierce Linch was the 
paternal grandfather of our subject, and his 
wife, W'ho before her riiarriage was a IMiss 
Pierce, was a distant relative of President 
Franklin Pierce. The parents of our sub- 
ject were married in the Old Dominion, and 
early in 1800 emigrated westward, locating 
in Butler county, Ohio, on Dry Fork. In 
1808 Mr. Linch entered land, supposing it 
to be in Ohio, but when the survey was 
made it was found to be in Indiana terri- 
tory. There in the midst of an unbroken 
forest he established a home, his nearest 
neighbors being three miles distant. Indi- 
ans were still in the neighborhood, and dur- 
ing the war of 1812 the few white settlers 



frequently fled to the block-houses for pro- 
tection against the hostile red men. When 
peace was restored Mr. Linch improved a 
farm, which continued in possession of his 
descendants until it was sold by our subject, 
B. F. Linch. His was one of the typical 
pioneer homes of the country, the latch- 
string on his cabin door being always out 
and the hospitality of the dwelling being 
always extended to the traveler who chose 
to seek entertainment there. He lived a 
quiet, happy life, and, though there were 
many hardships and trials to be met in fron- 
tier times, one could also enjoy a good 
hunt, for wnld game was abundant, and 
among the settlers the most cordial and 
friendly spirit existed. Tlie ladies of the 
neighborhood spun and wove the cloth and 
made the clothes worn by the family. Mr. 
Linch industriously prosecuted his farming 
labors, and thus gained a comfortable com- 
petence. In early life he was a Democrat, 
!:)ut later in life he joined the ranks of the 
newly-organized Republican party. He 
kept well informed on the issues of the day 
but never sought office. He was honest, 
industrious and faithful to his friends, and 
enjoyed "the confidence and good will of all 
W'ho knew him. He died in 1864, and his 
wife passed away March 4, 1861. She was a 
daughter of William Jenkins, of Virginia, 
who served as a captain in the Revolution- 
ary war, and afterward removed to Butler 
county. Ohio, where he died. His children 
were: Evan, Benjamin, William, James, 
Catherine, Ruth. Nancy and Susan. 

The children of the Linch family were: 
John, who died in Iowa; Betty, wife of 
Tomas Lough; James, who died in Jackson 
township, Decatur couiTty, Indiana; Pierce, 
who died in Virginia; Nancy, who died in 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



380 



Franklin county. Indiana, tlie wife of Will- 
iam Fislier: William I. inch, who is living 
in Nebraska; Susan Aulhands, who died in 
Nebraska; Alexander, who died at the age 
of twenty-five years, in Franklin county, 
Indiana; Evan, also of Nebraska; Benja- 
min F. Linch, of this review; and Mrs. Mary 
Shields, living in Adams, this county. The 
mother of these children died in Franklin 
county, this state, a member of the Blount 
Carmcl Presbyterian church. 

Benjamin F. Linch was reared on his 
father's farm, and to a limited extent at- 
tended the district schools, but acquired the 
greater part of his education after attaining 
his twenty-first year. He assisted in the 
labors of the fields until after he had arrived 
at years of maturity, when he went to Iowa. 
In 1852 he drove an ox team across the 
plains to California and spent four years on 
the Pacific slope, engaging in mining and 
iii conducting a dairy. He met with a fair 
degree of success in his undertaking and 
returned to Indiana in 1856. by way of the 
Panama route and New York city. In 1857 
he was married, and remained upon the 
home farm for eleven years. In 1868 he re- 
moved to Greensburg. where he was engaged 
in the sale of fruit-trees. Subsequently he 
purcha.sed a tract of land adjoining his pres- 
ent fami. and later he bought the tract upon 
which he now resides. He has since be- 
come the owner of another farm, in Adams 
town.ship, Decatur county, for his industry, 
economy and enterprise have enabled him 
thus to add continually to his possessions. 
In connection with general farming, he has 
engaged extensively in raising and shipping 
stock and grain. He was the first to ship 
stock from .\dams. where he built rail pens 
for stock and later was instrumental in se- 



curing the building of the stock pens. 
His extensive business as a stock dealer 
proved of great benefit to the town of 
.\dams. He has always been a public-spir- 
ited and i)rogressive citizen, and has aided 
in promoting many enterprises which have 
proven of great benefit and value to the 
community. He was one among the larg- 
est stockholders in the Vandalia. Adams 
& Michigan Pike Road and has always been 
an advocate of good roads, believing them 
to be of decided advantage to the commu- 
nity. He was a member of the Agricultural 
Society and County Fair Association, and 
in many ways has promoted the welfare of 
his section of the county. He was the 
owner of property in Adams, and after the 
business portion of that town was burned 
he rebuilt and now has some good buildings 
at that place. 

In 1S57 Mr. Linch married Miss Sarah 
S. Bentley. daughter of William and Sarah 
Bentley. of Butler county. Ohio, who came 
to this county at an early day. Here the 
father purchased timber land and im|)roved 
a good farm, upon which he remained until 
his death. In connection with the cultiva- 
tion of the fields he operated a thresher, and 
was an energetic, enterprising man. In re- 
ligious belief he was a Ba])tist. while his wife 
was a member of the Presbyterian church. 
Their children were: Adolphus; Ebene- 
zer: Alvin; Gideon; Calvin; Alexander; 
Louisa, wife of Noah Brunton ; Sarah, 
wife of our subject, B. F. Linch; .\nna, wife 
of B. F. Moore; and Letha. now deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Linch have been born 
six children, two of whom died in infancy; 
.\nna L.. wife of W. Wooley, who is living 
near Lebanon, Boone county, Indiana; 
C)live .\., wife of G. C. Roberts, superin- 



390 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



tendent of the schools of Greensburg; 
Perry, who is operating the homestead 
farm; and Mary L.. wife of W. Corv', a 
prominent farmer of Washington township, 
Decatur county. The parents were mem- 
bers of the Presljyterian church. 

Mr. B. F. Linch was reared in the Pres- 
byterian faith, but after coming to this 
county became a Methodist and has since 
labored earnestly in behalf of the church of 
his choice. He has served in many of its 
offices and contributes liberally to its sup- 
port. In politics he is a stanch Republican 
on questions of state and national impor- 
tance, but at local elections, where no 
general issue is involved, he votes indepen- 
dently. His marked enterprise, keen dis- 
crimination and sound judgment in business 
atTairs and his unflagging enterprise have 
gained him a handsome competence and 
won him a place among the substantial and 
representative citizens of Decatur county. 



WILLIAM HOGG. 



Mr. Hogg, who resides near Forest Hill, 
Decatur county, Indiana, is a prominent 
farmer of Jackson township and the repre- 
sentative of one of the pioneer and highly 
honored families of the county. He was 
born on the homestead near where he now 
lives, June 13, 1847, and was reared as most 
farmers' boys are — to assist in caring for the 
stock, in ploughing, sowing and reaping, 
in preparing the firewood, milking the cows 
and the thousand and one things which 
keep a country lad busy from morning till 
night. In the winter time he attended the 
connnon schools and obtained a good prac- 



tical education, which he has supplemented 
by reading and observation. 

Mr. Hogg is the son of George and Ann 
J. (Giljson) Hogg. The former was born 
on the ocean as his parents were on their 
way from Ireland to this country, in 1812. 
His father was William Hogg, who set- 
tled in Pennsylvania in that year, where he 
was a farmer, and there died. Two 
of the three children born to him, Wil- 
liam and Robert, died in that state, of which 
their mother was a native. George Hogg 
remained on his father's farm in Pennsyl- 
\-ania until he was thirty-fi\'e years old, 
when he married, and in 1846 removed to 
Indiana. He located in Clay township, near 
the line of Jackson township, where he pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
of which a few acres were poorly cleared 
and a log cabin built on the place. He im- 
pro\'ed a good farm and became a success- 
ful farmer and stock dealer. He was a 
hard-working, honest man, and prosperity 
rewarded his efforts. Personally he was a de- 
lightful companion, full of humor, loving a 
good joke and always ready to contribute 
to the amusement of his friends with a jest 
or story. His character was above reproach 
and he had a high standard of integrity. 
He was strictly temperate, charitable to the 
poor, and was beloved by all who knew him. 
As his financial condition improved Mr. 
Hogg began adding to his real estate until 
at the time of his death he owned five hun- 
dred and fifty-five acres of fine land in ad- 
joining townships, and one thousand acres 
in Alabama, besides other interests. He 
loaned money on mortgages and in various 
ways became a well known financier. He 
was the founder of Forest Hill postoffice 
and one of the projectors of the Sand Creek 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



391 



pike, of which he was a stockholder, and 
was president of tlie road for some years. 
He exerted his inflnence in the making of 
good roads in tlie townshii^, and in every- 
tliing relating to the community he was en- 
terprising and public-spirited. He built 
an elegant two-story brick residence on his 
farm, also good barns and outbuildings, 
and in other ways made of his place one of 
the most attractive and valuable pieces of 
property in the county. Although a strong 
supporter of the Democratic party he never 
aspired to office, and always claimed the 
right to vote for the best man for office, ir- 
resjiective of his jiolitical opinions. He was 
one of the wealthiest citizens of Decatur 
county and an important factor in its 
growth. 

Ann J. (Gibson) Hogg, the mother of our 
subject, was one of six children. Two of 
her brothers, Reuben and David, were the 
first merchants of Newburg (now Forest 
Hill). They moved, in 1872, to Liberty, 
Indiana, where they engaged in merchan- 
dise business for several years. David 
moved to Kansas, where he still lives. Reu- 
ben returned to Decatur county and died 
near Forest Hill, in .\pril, 1892. One sis- 
ter, Mrs. Sophia Evans, lives at Marion, In- 
diana. Mrs. Hogg died in 1880, aged fifty- 
si.x years. She was a devoted member of 
the Baptist church and was a most estimable 
lady. 

To George Hogg and his wife were born 
ten children, — the eldest being William, the 
subject of this sketch: Mary D. died at the 
age of thirty years; Margaret J. died when 
twenty-six years old ; James died when forty 
years old, leaving a wife and three children; 
.\nnie is the wife of Dr. J- D. Lorimor, re- 
siding near Forest Hill; George, a fruit 



farmer, lives in California; Martha, wife of 
Edward Dillman, also lives in California; 
Lilla died when fourteen years old; and two 
other children died in infancy. The father 
of this family died April 14, 1891, aged sev- 
enty-nine years. 

William Hogg remained with his parents 
until he was twenty-five years old. In 1872 
he was married, and rented a farm in Jack- 
son township, on which he lived for four- 
teen years. He then returned to the home- 
stead and cared for his father until the death 
of the latter. Mr. Hogg, Sr., did not leave 
any will, but desired that his estate should 
be equally divided among his children. Our 
subject was made administrator, and in the 
settlement the home buildings and seventy 
acres of land fell to his share. He after- 
ward bought ninety acres more, and now 
owns the original one hundred and sixty 
which his father first purchased. He lived 
upon the farm until his wife died, June i, 
1893. He has made a success of farming 
and stock-raising, and holds a leading place 
among the agriculturists of Jackson town- 
ship. He is an independent Democrat, and 
while loyal to the interests of his commun- 
ity has never cared to hold office. He is a 
member of the Presbyterian church and a 
liberal contributor to its support. 

Mr. Hogg has been twice married. His 
first wife was Hettie F. McCracken, who 
was born in Clay township, August 13, 
1 85 1. She was a daughter of Hugh and 
Elizabeth (Gillaspie) McCracken, both na- 
tives of Kentucky. Mr. McCracken came 
to Indiana at an early day and settled in 
Fugit township, where he was unfortunate 
in his enterprises, and later removed to Clay 
township. He bought a small farm in the 
i latter place, where he died of smallpox, 



392 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



April 13, 1861, aged sixty-six years. He 
was a kind husband and father and a good 
citizen. He was of Scotch-Irish descent 
and was a consistent member of the Pres- 
byterian church. His wife died August 23, 
1883, at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. 
McCracken was twice married. By his first 
wife he had two children, — Sarah A., who 
married J. J. McCracken, and John, de- 
ceased. Both settled in Decatur county 
and reared families. Of the second mar- 
riage nine children were born, namely: 
Margaret, Mrs. S. W. Garrison; Mary A., 
Mrs. McVey; Rebecca J., Mrs. T. Jacks; 
Amelia E.; Lucy, Mrs. Sparks; Hannah; 
James W., who lives in Oklahoma; Felix 
A., deceased in early youth; and Hettie F., 
wife of our subject. 

Five children were born to ^Ir. Hogg by 
his first marriage: Ora, wife of John Cham- 
bers, a farmer; George, a farmer in Jackson 
township; Hugh, deceased in childhood; 
Almah, Mrs. C. Annis; and Robert, who 
died in early life. The mother of these chil- 
dren died June i. 1893. On ;\Iarch 31. 
1896, Mr. Hogg was married to Miss Mary 
Brown, who was l)orn in Butler county, 
Ohio, November 12. 185 1. She is a daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Eliza (Smiley) Brownl 
Her father was of Irish descent and was a 
native of Butler county. Ohio; and the 
mother was a native of Mifflin county, 
Pennsylvania. They were married in But- 
ler county, in 1841, and lived there until 
1857, when they removed to Decatur coun- 
ty, Indiana, where ^Ir. Brown bought a 
farm, in Clay township. Later he sold that 
and bought one in Jackson township, near 
Newburg. When a young man Mr. Brown 
was a school-teacher and afterward a mer- 
chant, having taken up farming when he 



was married. He was a Democrat in his 
political views. He was of a very social dis- 
position and fond of company, but his 
greatest happiness was found in the home 
circle, from which he was seldom absent. 
He was an intelligent, well read man and 
especially conversant with historical works. 
His religious affiliation was with the Pres- 
byterian denomination, and he was re- 
spected and esteemed by all who knew him. 
He died September 11, 1891. Mrs. Brown 
survived her husband until August 29, 1893. 
She was the daughter of Patrick and Mary 
Smiley, who were of Irish descent, but were 
born in Pennsylvania. They moved to 
Ohio in 1827, and there died. There were 
nine children in the Smiley family: James. 
John, William, Sovereign, Nancy, Lettie, 
Eliza, ;\Iary and Margaret. The parents 
were members of the Associate Reformed 
church. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had three 
children, — Ralph, who died in 1870; Lettie 
J., wife of W. R. Ogden; and I\Iary L., wife 
of William Hogg. 



DR. WILLIAM BRACKEN. 

One of the oldest and most highly es- 
teemed medical practitioners of the state of 
Indiana, Dr. William Bracken, of Greens- 
burg, is a son of Thomas and Matilda 
(Coen) Bracken, and was born in Dearborn 
county, this state, May 26, 1817. The fam- 
ily is of English origin and was established 
in America by four brothers who emigrated 
in 1760 to this country, one settling in Can- 
ada, two in Pennsylvania and one in South 
Carolina. Dr. Bracken, of this sketch, is a 
descendant of the Pennsylvania branch of 
the family. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



393 



His father, Thomas Bracken, was Ijorn in 
a portion of Westmoreland county which is 
now a part of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, 
and was the son of William Bracken, who 
likewise was a native of that county and 
who died shortly before the birth of our 
subject's father, leaving three children to 
the care of a widowed mother. Subsequent- 
ly the family removed to Indiana, and the 
Doctor's father and mother both died in 
Rush county, this state, the former in 1883 
and the latter in 1859. The family arrived 
in Rush county. December 16, 182 1, and 
there our subject was reared and obtained 
such education as the primitive schools of 
that time afforded. He worked on the farm 
during the summer months and attended a 
subscription school near by during the win- 
ter, in an old log school-house in which 
greased paper was used for window glass. 
He spent five winters in this way. and at the 
age of seventeen entered upon the study of 
medicine under the preceptorship of Drs. 
H. G. Sexton and W. H. Martin, both of 
Rushville, Indiana. Completing the re- 
(|uired course of study at the age of nine- 
teen, he was licensed to practice medicine 
by the old Fifth District IMedical Society, at 
its session in Connersville. Indiana. X'ovem- 
ber 2, 1836. January i. i!^37. Dr. Bracken 
began life as a medical ])ractitioner in Jack- 
son county, this state, where he remaine<l 
about twenty months. Then. April 4, 1839. 
he removed to Richland, Rush county. In 
December, 1842. he located in Milroy. same 
county, and established a good practice, 
winning the confidence of the people. In 
1850 he was elected one of the three dele- 
gates to represent Rush county in the State 
Constitutional Convention. He was one of 
the vounq;cst members of that budv. but 



represented the interes^ts of his constituency 
faithfully and efficiently. He has been a 
Democrat all his life and has always taken 
an intelligent interest in politics, but has 
never aspired to political preferment. Ajm-II 
II, 1862, he removed to Greensburg, In- 
diana, where he has practiced successfully 
for nearly forty years. He has been a care- 
ful student of the best medical literature of 
his time, and by close attention to his pro- 
fessional duties estal)lished and retained un- 
til recent years a large and remunerative 
patronage. He has accumulated a com- 
petency and is now gradually retiring from 
general practice, owing to his advanced age 
and consequent failing health. 

He has been prominently identified with 
the Methodist Episcopal church for many 
years and supports all the enterprises of that 
zealous denomination. He is also a mem- 
ber of Greensburg Lodge, No. 36, Free and 
Accepted Masons, and is past master of this 
lodge and also of Milroy Lodge, being the 
oldest living past master in the county. He 
is also a member of Greensburg Chapter. 
No. 8, Royal Arch Ma.sons. 

November 19. 1837. Dr. Bracken married 
Patience .\nn I'crry. then of Rush county, 
but a native of Kentucky. To them were 
born seven children. — five sons and two 
daughters, as follows: Captain William II.. 
of Brook ville. Indiana, a retired attorney, 
formerly a soldier of the civil war, county 
clerk and internal-revenue collector;Thomas 
E.. formerly in business in Greensburg, but 
now a farmer of this county: James B., who 
is a physician by profession, having studied 
in Chicago and at the Jefferson Medical 
College, in Philadelphia: Mrs. Martha E. 
Rucker, of Greensburg; John L.. who is an 
attorney by profession, has been deputy col- 



394 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



lector and is now engaged in farming; and 
one daughter and one son who are de- 
ceased. Mrs. Bracken, who was a devoted 
wife and an estimable Christian lady, passed 
away March i8, 1898. 



JAMES M. BOYER, M. D. 

Dr. Boyer is a prominent and popular 
physician of Sardinia, Decatur count}-, In- 
diana, and a descendant of one of the oldest 
and best known families of that locality. 
His parents, William and Mary (Miller) 
Boyer, were natives of Clark county, In- 
diana, where they were married. William 
was the son of John Boyer, a farmer who 
lived in Maryland. The father of John 
Boyer, also named John, was a native of Al- 
sace, France, and emigrated to America at 
an early day, settling in Maryland, where he 
spent the remainder of his life. He had a 
brother who was a surgeon on the staff of 
Napoleon I., and another brother, Lewis, 
who was the first French governor of Vin- 
cennes. After his term of office expired he 
left that place, and his family lost all trace of 
him. John Boyer, Sr., came from Mary- 
land to Indiana and settled on a farm in 
Clark county, where he reared his eight 
children, whose names were James, Mary, 
William, Eliza, Louise, Andrew, John and 
Margaret. The family held membership in 
the Methodist church. 

William Boyer, father of our subject, was 
born at Charleston, Indiana, and had but 
few opportunities for acquiring an educa- 
tion, but being a great reader he acquired 
a valuable fund of general information, 
which he put to practical use. He learned 
the trade of wagon and carriage maker, 



which he followed until increasing years be- 
gan to tell on his strength and endurance. 
For eight years before his death he lived 
quietly, enjoying the fruits of a well spent 
life. He was killed in a railroad accident, 
October 4, 1897. Mr. Boyer was a member 
of the Methodist church, active in church 
work and broad-minded and charitable in 
his views; he was well-to-do and brought 
up his family in good style, and no citizen 
was more respected and esteemed than he. 
In politics he was a Douglas Democrat, but 
voted for Lincoln on his second nomina- 
tion, and thereafter was in sympathy with 
the Republican party. 

Mrs. Boyer, the mother of our subject, 
died in 1874. Her parents, John and Mary 
Miller, were of German and French descent, 
and came from Maryland to Indiana at an 
early day, settling on a farm. They were 
highly esteemed in their community. Their 
children are: Jacob, living in Davenport, 
Iowa; John, residing in Jeffersonville, In- 
diana; Mary, Mrs. Boyer; Nicholas, living in 
Davenport, Iowa; and Ann, Mrs. S. Tuell. 
The children are, as were their parents, all 
members of the Methodist church. To Mr. 
and J\Irs. ^Villiam Boyer eleven children 
were born, of whom the following record is 
given: Marietta, Mrs. J. Long; John, de- 
ceased, was a farmer in Iowa; William, de- 
ceased in infancy; Ferdinand, a farmer in 
Iowa; Charles, a manufacturer of plows; 
Frank, superintendent of plow works; Clar- 
ence, a hardware merchant; Lenius and 
Louis; James M., the subject of this sketch; 
and Maude, the wife of J. F. McCuUough, 
employed in a bank at New Albany, In- 
diana. 

Dr. James M. Boyer was born in Charles- 
ton, Clark county, August 11, 1863. He 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



395 



attended the common scliools in liis boy- 
hood, and later l)ecanie a student at l)e 
Pauw University. He tlien entered l*>o\v- 
doin College, at which he graduated. He 
made his own way through college and is a 
self-made man. He taught school for six 
years after his graduation, and was county 
superintendent of schools for six years. 
During this time he had constantly in mind 
the idea of becoming a physician, and when 
only twenty years of age began reading 
medicine with Dr. W. F. Worth, of Charles- 
ton, as his preceptor; he also studied under 
the instructions of Dr. D. C. Peyton, a lead- 
ing physician of Charleston, and later 
prominent in the United States service, and 
physician to the Jeffersonville prison for 
ni;uiy years, at which time Dr. Boyer was 
associated with him. Dr. Boyer attended 
lectures from 1893 to 1895, graduating in 
the latter year at the Kentucky School of 
Medicine, at Louisville. He was at first in 
partnership with Dr. Worth, at Charleston, 
but in March, 1896, came to Sardinia, which 
has since been his home. Here he has been 
very successful in securing a good practice, 
which is constantly growing, and he has 
gained the confidence of the people by his 
undoubted ability and thorough knowledge 
of his profession. He is still a young man 
and has a bright future before him. 

In 1888 Dr. Boyer was united in mar- 
riage with Idella Scott, a lady of culture and 
refinement, who was born in Clark county, 
Indiana, September 9, 1867. Her parents 
were Caleb and Sarah Scott, both natives of 
Clark county. Her father is a prominent 
farmer and is highly educated, having stud- 
ied for the ministry, but he gave up his plans 
in this line on account of his mother, who, 
by reason of her increasing years, de- 



manded his care. He is an active worker in 
the I'rcsliyleriaii chtu\-li and a man of fine 
character. .Mr. Scott had si.x children, 
namely: Dora, Mrs. Southerland; Idella, 
Mrs. Boyer; llonier. who was a Presby- 
terian minister and who died in May, 1899; 
Jennie, the widow of J. Fales; Virgil, also a 
Presbyterian minister, in Kentucky; and 
Charles, attending school. Two children 
have been born to Dr. Boyer and wife, 
namely: Ralph, born March 19, 1889, and 
Lewis, August 11, 1891. Mrs. Boyer is a 
member of the Methodist church, of which 
the Doctor is a liberal supporter. He is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity, as well 
as of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows and the Knights of Pythias, and also 
belongs to the Jennings County Medical 
Society. Politically he is a stanch Demo- 
crat and takes a lively interest in the success 
of his party at the polls. 



TETHRO C. MEEK. 



Since the early days of the settlement of 
Decatur county, the Meek family have 
borne an important part in its development, 
and the name is well known, and everywhere 
favorably so, throughout this section of In- 
diana. Coming into the wilderness, they 
proceeded to clear land and make perma- 
nent homes for themselves and their chil- 
dren; and from that day until the present 
they have upheld good government, schools 
and churches and everything which has 
been instrumental in the progress of civili- 
zation. 

Thomas Meek, the great-grandfather of 
our subject, was born in Maryland, thence 
went to Kentucky, and in 1824 came to In- 



396 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



diana, settling in Decatur county. To him- 
self and wife, whose maiden name was 
Martha Davis, fifteen children were born. 
Two of the number died in Kentucky, and 
twelve of them, some already married and 
with families of their own, located in De- 
catur county. Samuel, the grandfather of 
Jethro C. Meek, accompanied by his two 
brothers-in-law, James and William Mc- 
Cracken, was the first of the family to settle 
here, for it was about two years later that 
Thomas and Martha Meek, then wellalong 
in years, came, and here they died a few 
years subsequently. Their eldest son, 
James, born January 8, 1781, passed his en- 
tire life in Kentucky. Samuel, the next son, 
born May 15, 1782, died August 18, 1837; 
Sally was born August 17, 1784; Priscilla 
was born in September, 1786; Adam R., 
December 15, 1789; Martha, April 30, 1792; 
David, January 21, 1794; Jemima, May 9, 
1796; Tirzah, April 28, 1797; Mary (or 
Polly), June 15, 1800; Davis, September 18, 
1802; Sophia, August 31, 1805; and Anna 
K., January 18, 1808. The only survivor of 
this large family is the youngest, Mrs. Anna 
Kindness Braden, of Greensburg. All ex- 
cept Jemima married, and Mrs. Braden was 
the only one of these who did not have chil- 
dren. Thus the descendants of Thomas and 
Martha Meek are very numerous, and their 
value to this county cannot be overesti- 
mated. With the exception of Adam, all of 
the children of Thomas Meek who came to 
this county settled in Fugit township, and 
all located here between the years of 1S22 
and 1826. 

John Meek, son of Samuel and father of 
Jethro C. Meek, was born in Kentucky, in 
October, 1814. He was a child when he 
was brought to this county, and the remain- 



der of his youth was passed in the wilds of 
Fugit and Clinton townships. For a number 
of years after his marriage to Jane Mont- 
gomery he was engaged in farming in the 
last mentioned township, but for many 
years he was numbered among the re- 
spected citizens of Greensburg. A long and 
useful life was granted him, and he lived to 
see vast changes in the country where he 
lived for about three-quarters of a century. 
He was called to his reward April 20, 1896, 
his wife having passed away several years 
before. Both were active members of the 
United Presbyterian church. Of their four 
sons and si.x daughters who lived to mature 
years eight are yet living, and all but two 
reside in this county. Mrs. Tirzah Ennis 
and Mrs. Lola Smith have been called to the 
silent land; and Josiah and Etta died in 
early life. Those who survive are: Robert 
S., born May 27, 1840; Mrs. Margaret E. 
Robinson ; John T. ; Louisa, wife of John A. 
Meek, of Kansas; Adam, a resident of 
Greensburg; Jethro C.; Mrs. Mary Brown, 
of Rushville: and Mrs. Anna Pleak, of 
Greensburg. 

The birth of Jethro C. Meek occurred Oc- 
tober 22, 1852, on the homestead which he 
now owns and carries on, and, with the ex- 
ception of about five years, he always has 
dwelt here. Following the example of his 
worthy forefathers, he has been an indus- 
trious, practical agriculturist, managing his 
business affairs with ability. Recognized as 
one of our best and most progressive citi- 
zens, he has often been called upon to serve 
in puljlic positions, antl in the fall of 1897 
was elected to the important office of 
county commissioner, his term to run until 
December, 1900. He is a stanch Repub- 
lican in politics, and is a firm believer in the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



397 



wisdom of tliat party, which has .guided the 
course of the shi]) of state (hiring- so many 
perilous periods. 

The marriage of J. C. Meek and Miss 
Mila Henry was cclcl)ratcd June 26, 1877. 
She is a daughter of Thoiuas 13. and Re- 
becca Jane (Meek) Henry, who came to this 
county from Kentucky, but in 1852 went to 
the far west, taking up their al)ode in tiie 
])resent state of Oregon. They were ac- 
companied on their long journey by the 
father of our subject. At the end of a few- 
years, within which time tlieir daughter 
Mila was born. Mr. and Mrs. Henry re- 
turned to this county, and here she has re- 
sided ever since. She has been a true help- 
mate to her husband, and shares with him 
the high regard which the people of this 
conmumity entertain for all who bear the 
name of Meek. 



ELI PENIXGTOX. M. D. 

The task to which the writer now ad- 
dresses himself is the telling, in more or less 
detail, of the busy life of a man well known 
in Decatur county, Indiana, as a ]iioncer 
farmer and physician, as a leading citizen 
and land-holder and as a figure conspicuous 
in the medical history of this part of the 
state. Dr. Eli Peniugton, who lives near 
Grcensburg, came to the county while it 
was yet a wilderness, peopled with wild ani- 
mals, and has been identified closely and in- 
fluentially with its development to the pres- 
ent time. 

Dr. Penington was l)om in Belmont 
county, Ohio, April 24, 1822, a son of John 
and Elizabeth (Thompson) Penington. His 
parents were natives of Pennsylvania and 



his father descended from the same Pening- 
ton family into which William Penn mar- 
ried. John Pcnington's father was Amos 
Penington, and .\iuos was a son of Daniel 
Penington, a lineal descendant of Isaac Pen- 
ington, who was lord mayor of London and 
counsel to the king. The first of this family 
of Peningtons in An-ierica of whom mention 
is made was Isaac Penington, of Pennsyl- 
vania, who was buried beside Penn, as were 
also Mary Penington and their son John, 
the last mentioned of whom died in 1710. 
Edward, the youngest of this farnily, was 
surveyor general of the province of Penn- 
sylvania. He was married in i''>99 to Sarah, 
daughter of Daniel Jennings, the Quaker, 
governor of New Jersey, and died in Phila- 
delphia, leaving a son named Isaac, from 
whom has descended the line of Peningtons 
of whom Dr. Penington is a worthy rejire- 
sentative. 

John Penington, father of the immediate 
sul)ject of this sketch, was reared in the faith 
of this Society of Friends and adhered to it 
all his life. While yet a boy he came to 
Ohio, and there he grew to maidiood and 
was mruTied, at I>arncsvillo. that state. In 
iSjf) he came to Indiana and stopped at 
Richmond. Wayne county, where he en- 
gaged in business as a merchant. Soon he 
was located at W'illiamsburg, Indiana, w here 
he engaged in packing ])ork and hauling the 
product to Cincinnati to market. After a 
time he lost his stock in trade by fire and 
was thus compelled to give up the business. 
He them came to Decatur county and en- 
gaged in farming. His wife died at the 
Boardman tavern, in 1847, and he removed 
to Ripley county and died there. Their 
children were named as follows, in the se- 
quence of their birth: Eli, the subject of 



398 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



this sketch, Eleanor, Mary, Joel, Melissa, 
Bryce C. and Isaac C. The last mentioned 
is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and is living and laboring- in Okla- 
homa. Bryce C, of Oak Park. California, 
has retired on a competency well earned. 

Eli Penington passed his youth in the 
public schools and in assisting his father in 
his store. He finished his primary' educa- 
tion in the schools of Williamsburg. Wayne 
county, Indiana. Then he began to study 
medicine under the preceptonship of Dr. 
Hank, of Milford, teaching school to earn 
money with which to defray expenses. He 
began practice at Milton, with his cousin. 
Dr. Penington. From Milton he removed 
to Centerville, Indiana, where he practiced 
his profession two years. Then he lived for 
a year at Richmond, from which place he 
came to Decatur county about fifty years 
ago. In 1 85 1 he laid out the town of New 
Pennington, which has been known by his 
name since i860. When he first came to 
the county he bought a place at Sulphur 
Springs, which he has owned ever since. 
At that time the locality abounded with 
game and he killed many deer, turkeys, etc. 
He has been an extensive speculator in 
lands and has owned farms and other landed 
property in different states for forty years. 
At one time he had a real-estate ofifice in 
Kokomo and by shrewd trading amassed a 
good fortune; but later he lost heavily 
through fraudulent titles. He entered the 
last four hundred acres of public land in De- 
catur county. 

Dr. Penington married Aliss Mary Anna 
Barclay, daughter of William Barclay, a na- 
tive of Kentucky, who came to Indiana in 
1826, among the early pioneer settlers, and 
died here. He was a Baptist and a \M-iig, 



and in the closing years of his life a Repub- 
lican. His children were as follows: Wil- 
liam, Addison, Parkison, Henly. Thomas 
and Mary Anna (^Irs. Penington). Dr. and 
Mrs. Penington have had no children of 
their own, but have adopted, reared and 
educated two boys. The first was Frederick 
Brooks, whom they took into their home 
when he was nine years old and who lives in 
Illinois and is making a success of life. 
Later they adopted Edward J. Penington, 
then nine years old, and he was a member of 
their family until he was nineteen years of 
age, being reared and educated under their 
care and as their own son. Of an inventive 
turn of mind, he became famous as the in- 
ventor of an air-ship which was exhibited 
with success at Chicago and elsewhere, a 
few years ago, and attracted much attention 
from scientists and the public. Later he 
went to England and there invented a rapid- 
fire gun which has yielded him a goodly 
financial reward. A few years ago Dr. Pen- 
ington retired to one of his farms, where he 
and his faithful and helpful wife are enjoying 
the rewards of a well spent life. The Doctor 
has a birthright in the Society of Friends, 
and for three years he was a preacher among 
his people. 



HON. JOSEPH D. PLEAK. 

Probably only one or two persons, if any 
now living, can claim priority of birth in 
Decatur county when it is stated that the 
subject of this memoir was born in Wash- 
ington township, November 27, 1822. Few 
of our citizens are better informed upon the 
history of this portion of the state, and his 
recollections of the trials and vicissitudes of 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



39!) 



life in tlie early pioneer days are replete with 
interest. 

He is of Ciernian tlcscenl. u])i)ii liis 
father's side of the family, thouyh his 
father's mother, a Miss Wade in her girl- 
hood, was of English extraction, and one of 
her cousins was General Wade, of Revolu- 
tionary war fame. John Pleak. the grand- 
father, emigrated to the United States from 
(icrmany at a very early day and settled 
upon a farm in Kentucky, in which state 
hoth he and his wife continued to dwell un- 
til death. Fielden Pleak, the father of our 
subject, was bom at Castleton's Fort, near 
!\rount Sterling. Montgomery county. Ken- 
tucky. His proud parents bestowed upon 
him a long and ambitious name, Marcus 
Baron Steuben Isaac Henry Fielden Lewis: 
but he was commonly known as Fielden 
Pleak. When he had arrived at maturity he 
sought a wife and finally chose Sabina Virt. 
who was a native of Pittsburg. Pcnn.syl- 
vania, and had been taken by her parents to 
Kentucky when she was a child. 

In t8i8 Fielden Pleak, with his family, 
located in the neighborhood of Cross Plains, 
Jefferson county, Indiana. The land which 
he leased was a j^art of what was known as 
the "old purchase;" and though some of the 
conditions were favorable, Mr. Pleak found 
himself in very straitened circumstances at 
the close of four years of extremely arduous 
labor. He was not a strong man physically, 
and learning of the fact that a i)arty of men 
were to be employed by the government to 
survey land in Decatur county he concluded 
to accomjiany them and to aid in the busi- 
ness, taking, in return payment, sufficient 
land to make a home for his family. Never 
did he nor his wife forget the experience 
through which they passed at that time. 



After a five-days journey through almost 
trackless wilds, they arrived in Washington 
township, on the i ith of March, 1822. The 
entire trip had been made in a wagon drawn 
by two yoke of oxen, and when they reached 
here the family were on the verge of want, 
for they had provisions to last them a few 
days only, and they were obliged to camji 
out of doors until a temporary shelter was 
constructed by Mr. Pleak and the teamster 
who had accom])anied them. .\ rude hut, 
made of poles and bark, sufficed to shut out 
some of the cold: and here, in the midst of 
the dense forest, the mother, with her three 
little children and her aged mother, was 
obliged to stay until Mr. Pleak had returned 
from the distant mill, at Brookville, whither 
he hatl gone to have a l)ag-full of corn 
ground. He was absent for five days; and 
one can well imagine how joyfully he was 
welcomed when he again joined his dear 
ones. To this favored generation it seems 
wonderful, indeed, that such hardships could 
be endured with fortitude by women and 
children: but bravery is always developed 
by necessity, and fn spite of some very try- 
ing experiences the pioneers were on the 
whole contented and happy. 

In the course of a few years Mr. Pleak 
had developed a good farm, and when he 
was claimed by death, in the guise of con- 
sumption, in 1835. he left his family in com- 
fortable circumstances. His faithful wife, 
who had so nobly shared his reverses and 
had borne the burden.; which only the pio- 
neer women can know, survived him a num- 
ber of years, and imtil she was about ninety 
years old continued to dwell on the home- 
stead where she had first located upon her 
arrival in this county. During the rest of 
her life she made her home with her chil- 



400 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



dren, and at ninety-three years of age she 
passed to her reward. Of her ten sons and 
two daughters only two are now Hving, — 
Joseph D. and Mrs. Louisa Miller, the birth 
of the latter occurring January 15, 18 16. 
Tlie old homestead is now owned and car- 
ried on by Walter Pleak. a grandson of 
Fielden Pleak. 

Born during the first year of the family's 
residence in Washington township, Joseph 
D. Pleak early started to work in the battle 
which his elders were already fighting with 
untamed nature, and ere he had reached 
manhood he was strong and rugged, for he 
had lived an outdoor existence and had 
been exclusively engaged in manual labor. 
Schools there were none for years in this lo- 
cality, and he was obliged to rely solely 
upon his own exertions in the matter of 
education, as, indeed, in everything. Nature 
had endowed him with keen powers of ob- 
servation, however, and experience and pri- 
vate reading made him a well informed 
man. After his marriage he removed to a 
farm a mile and a half north of Greensburg, 
and at the end of two years he exchanged 
the place for a farm in Adams township. 
Locating thereon in 1849, he made his home 
there for forty years, and in 1899 retired 
from active cares and is now living in the 
village of Adams. 

In 1847 Mr. Pleak was united in marriage 
to Nancy Coleman, who died in 1850, and 
four years later he wedded Mary Jane Rob- 
inson. She died two years afterward, leav- 
ing a son, William R. There were two sons 
by the first union, namely, Joseph D., Jr., 
and Coleman T. The lady who now bears 
our subject's name was formerly Martha J. 
Woodward. She was born in 1833, and is 
a daughter of Charles and Mary (Johnson) 



Woodward, who settled in Decatur county 
in 1832. 

In his early manhood ^Ir. Pleak was a 
stanch a.dvocate of the principles of the 
Whig party, and when its successor, the Re- 
publican party, was organized, he joined its 
ranks and has continued to give it his hearty 
support. His first presidential vote was 
cast in the spirited campaign year of 1840. 
when William Henry Harrison was the can- 
didate of his party. During the civil war 
Mr. Pleak was chosen by the people of this 
county to represent them in the Indiana 
state senate, which he did to their entire sat- 
isfaction. For a number of years he was 
president of the Decatur County Agricul- 
tural Association, and while acting in that- 
capacity was enabled to do much for the 
lasting good of the public. 



JOHN L. WOODEN. M. D. 

Dr. John L. \\'ooden was born in Shelby 
county. Kentucky. May 17, 1826, and died 
at Greensburg, Indiana, November 28, 
1886. His parents were Levi and Frances 
(Weyman) Wooden. His father was a na- 
tive of Shelby county, Kentucky, and spent 
his early manhood there. In 1821-2 he 
bought land in Indiana and subsequently 
became an extensive land-owner in that 
state, holding tracts near Greensburg. at 
Jeffersonville and at New Albany. He died 
at his home near Greensburg in 1840, and is 
remembered as having been a prominent 
Methodist and a good citizen. Frances 
Weyman was born at Bingen-on-the-Rhine, 
Germany, in 1803, and came to the United 
States w-ith her parents in 1818. The fam- 
ilv located at Baltimore, but later removed 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



401 



to Shelby county. Kentucky, where she 
married Levi \\'(>oden. 

Dr. Wooden came to Decatur couiUy, 
IiKhana, with liis parents in October. 1830. 
His early life was spent on the farm, of 
which he practically assumed charge after 
the death of his father, which occurred be- 
fore John L. was fourteen years old. At the 
age of twenty years he entered a dry-goods 
store, where he remained two years, when 
he commenced the study of medicine and 
surgery in the office of Dr. D. McAllister, 
of Milford. Decatur county. In May. 1853, 
he began his career as a medical practitioner 
at Andersonville. Franklin county, which he 
continued until the fall of 1859, when he 
entered the Medical College of Ohio, where 
he Avas admitted to fellowship in the degree 
of Doctor of Medicine. March i, i860; and 
in the autumn of 1861 he decided to leave a 
good civil practice for the varial)le experi- 
ences of a field surgeon in the volunteer 
army of the United States. He entered the 
service as a contract medical officer with the 
staff of the Seventh Regiment of Indiana 
Volunteers, and was advanced to the grade 
of assistant surgeon, with the rank of cap- 
tain, and, after experience which practically 
covered operations of the armies of Gen- 
erals Lander. McDowell and Pope, he was 
promoted to l)e a surgeon, with the rank of 
major, and assigned to duty with the Sixty- 
eighth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, to 
date from August 19, 1862. He had pre- 
\iously served as special insjiector of that 
regiment during its formation. He was 
maile a prisoner of war at the battle of Mun- 
fordville. Kentucky. September 17, 1862. 
and was exchanged in \ovember. 1862. At 
the battle of Chickamauga, September 20, 
1863, while in charge of the division hos- 



pital, he was again captured and was sent to 
Libby prison, from which he was liberated. 
by exchange, after three months" confine- 
ment. Having returned to duty in the fiei<l. 
he was placed ui)on the staff of General Wil- 
lich as brigade surgeon, and was near that 
officer when he (Willich) was severely 
wounded. Dr. Wooden's service ended only 
with the war. when he returned to ci\il 
practice in Greensburg. 

He was a man of active temperament, 
quick to perceive and prompt to act. though 
not unmindful of the opinions of others. 
Having become familiar by long experience 
with the diseases peculiar to this locality, 
and the best methods of treating them, to- 
gether with a liberal knowledge of practical 
surgery, it is not surprising that he should 
have had a wide and lucrative practice. He 
took great interest in whatever pertained 
to his profession and was prominent in ad- 
vocating any measure necessary for its ad- 
vancement or protection. He was presi- 
dent of the Decatur County Medical Society 
and examining surgeon for the United 
States pension board of that county, whicii 
office he filled for many years. 

In 1847 Dr. Wooden married Miss Jane 
Braden, of Decatur county, who bore him 
two children, both of whom died in infancy. 
Mrs. Wooden died in 1857. Dr. Wooden's 
surviving wife was Miss Sarah Guest, of 
Milford. who bore him four children: Ida 
May. who is the wife of T. Edgar Hamilton, 
of Greensburg: W'illiam H.. M. D.: Elmer 
E., who was graduated at tlie Greensburg 
high school and who is a meml)er of the firm 
of Bird. Deen & Wooden, prominent hard- 
ware dealers of Greensburg; and Fannie E.. 
wife of J. S. Moss, of the firm of Talbott & 
Moss, druggists in Greensburg. 



403 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Dr. Wooden was, and his family are. con- 
nected with the Methodist Episcopal 
church. He was a member of the Masonic 
fraternit)' and an active coworker with the 
comrades of the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic, and was commander of "Pap" Thomas 
Post, No. 5, and senior vice commander of 
the Department of the Grand Army of the 
Republic of Indiana. 



WILLIAM H. WOODEN, M. D. 

\\'illiam H. Wooden, ]\I. D.. was born at 
Clifty, Decatur county. Indiana, August 12, 
1857. He was educated at the Indiana Uni- 
versity, at Bloomington, in the classical 
course and in modern languages, including 
Latin. Greek, German and French, his 
studies there extending over a period of 
more than three years. Returning home, he 
studied medicine under his father's precep- 
torship, which was most thorough and 
painstaking, and was graduated with the de- 
gree of Doctor of Medicine, at the Medical 
College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, March i, 
1879. He was associated with his father, 
Dr. John L. Wooden, in the practice of his 
profession until the death of the latter, No- 
vember 28, 1886, and since then he has been 
alone in the practice, which has assu.med 
large proportions and covers a wide terri- 
tory. He is alert and active in the study of 
his ])rofession and is a member of the De- 
catur County Medical Association and of 
the American Medical Association. He has 
been especially active in the county associa- 
tion and has filled every important office in 
that body. 

Dr. Wooden was made a Mason in early 
manhood and is a member of Concordia 



Lodge, No. 476, Free & Accepted Masons; 
a member of Greensburg Chapter, No. 8, 
Royal Arch Masons; a member of Shelby- 
ville Council, No. 3, Royal & Select Mas- 
ters, and a member of Greensburg Lodge, 
No. 148, Knights of Pythias, and surgeon 
of Greensburg Commandery, No. 36, of the 
Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pytiiias. 
He is a member of John L. \\Vjoden Camp. 
No. 19, Sons of Veterans, named in honor 
of his father, and is past chaplain of the 
same. He has served as the health officer of 
Greensburg several years, and is a member 
of the L'nited States pension board. 



HARRY BOYD. 



Decatur county has many sturdy, self- 
made men among her citizens, men who 
have kept their eyes open for opportunities 
and have availed themselves of the benefits 
at the accepted time and have lieen borne 
on by them to success. Such a citizen is the 
gentleman whose name is at the head of this 
brief personal notice, and who, in his career 
thus far, has exemplified the substantial 
value of good character and taught again 
the old but ever useful lesson that morality 
and honesty are better capital than money. 

Harry Boyd, of the firm of Boyd & 
Adams, dealers in hardware and kindred 
goods, at Letts, is one of the most promi- 
nent of the younger business men of that 
place. He is a son of AMlliam and Jane 
(Dickerson) Boyd and was born in Jennings 
county, Indiana, October 18, 1861. Wil- 
liam Boyd, of Irish lilood, was born in Dear- 
born county, Indiana. Jane Dickerson, of 
German descent, was a native of Jennings 
county. They settled in Jennings county 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



■103 



after their marriage and there Mrs. Boyd 
died, in 1865. For his second wife Mr. Boyd 
married Mary Mermons. John and George 
Boyd, brothers of William Boyd, and Ti])- 
ton and Townsend Dickerson. brothers of 
Mrs. Boyd, all became well-to-do and well 
known in Jennings and adjoining counties. 
Of the children of William and Jane (Dick- 
erson) Boyd, four died of diphtheria and 
two, Lafayette and Harry, survive. By his 
second marriage Mr. Boyd had a son. who 
died young. As a Democrat in politics, 
William Boyd was elected to the ofifice of 
assessor, and performed the duties of the 
office to the entire satisfaction of all con- 
cerned; and for his sound judgment and 
straightforward character he came to be re- 
spected by all who knew him. Though he 
was a fairly successful farmer he never had 
means to educate his sons as he would have 
liked: and for this reason Harry Boyd, who 
early determined to equip himself as well as 
possible educationally, was in a large meas- 
ure thrown on his own resources in this re- 
gard. He took a firm grip on the situation 
and worked his way slowly but surely to the 
acquisition of a liberal education. Then for 
four years he was a successful teacher. .\s 
opportunity afforded he tried his faculty for 
business and was not slow in developing an 
ability which was recognized by men of the 
highest standing in the community. Such 
men made him favorable propositions, 
which he accepted, with results which have 
been satisfactory to himself and to his 
friends. He began his business career as a 
bookkeeper for Mr. Mitchell, at Letts Cor- 
ner. .After working six months in that po- 
sition he taught a term of school at Letts 
Corner, in which he was successful from 
every point of \iew. He then returned to 



Mr. Mitchell's employ and after a few 
months accepted a proposition from Messrs. 
W. T. & J. G. Adams, which resulted in his 
being taken into a general merchandise 
business as a partner, .\fter a time, having 
accpiiretl some cash capital, he withdrew 
from this enterprise and, in partnership with 
Mr. Mitchell, opened the first hardware 
store at Letts, which they conducted suc- 
cessfully for some years, — until Mr. Boyd 
exchanged his interest in the concern for a 
farm. He |)assed the succeeding four years 
as a farmer and then went back to merchan- 
dising, with Mr. .Vdams as a ])artner. under 
the firm name of Boyd & .\dams. They 
bought the Mitchell hardware store, which 
Mr. Boyd had hel])ed to establish, and en- 
larged it and broadened its scope in many 
ways. The business of the concern has 
steadily increased and is now one of the 
most important of its class in this part of the 
country. A very full line of hardware is car- 
ried, as well as a large stock of stoves, farm 
implements and harness: and in connection 
with the hardware trade there is nothing for 
which there is a demand in this vicinity that 
cannot be i)rocured, good in quality and 
reasonable in price, of P)Oyd tS; .\dams. Be- 
sides his mercantile interests Mr. Boyd 
owns two farms and a fine village residence. 
Mr. Boyd was married in 188S to Carrie 
I. Mitchell, daughter of Oliver S. and Mary 
E. Mitchell. Oliver S. Mitciiell was born in 
Decatur county and reared to the work of 
the farm. For some years after his mar- 
riage he was a successful farmer and stock- 
man. Later he bought grain at Letts and 
gradually built up a trade in farm imple- 
ments. Later his business included a trade 
in hardware and windmills. He died in 
1897, his wife in 1894. He was a broad- 



404 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



minded, enerq'etic. jnililic-spirited man, 
Democratic in in'iitical faith and helpful to 
every useful ]iulilic ni(i\-ement; he was a 
Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He left two 
daughters: Carrie I., the wife of the sub- 
ject of this sketch; and Lou V., the wife of 
K. L. Adams. Mr. Boyd's marriage is a 
happy one and has been blessed by one 
child, Jessie, born Januars' 31, 1895. He is 
a member of the Knights of Pythias, and, 
ha\ing been received as an Entered Appren- 
tice and passed the Fellowcraft degree of 
Masonry, has been duly raised to the sub- 
lime degree of Master Mason. 



COLEMAN THOMAS PLEAK. 

Among the most respected citizens of 
Greensburg will be found the gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch, and who 
holds the office of auditor of Decatur coun- 
ty. He was born near Adams, this county. 
May 22, 1849, and is the son of Joseph D. 
and Nancy (Coleman) Pleak. 

The Pleak family is of German descent. 
The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
who bore the remarkable name of Narcas 
Baron Steuben Isaac Henry Fielding Lewis 
Pleak, and Stalver, was born in Montgom- 
ery county, Kentucky (in Castleton's fort), 
and came to Indiana in 1818, settling in 
Decatur county, where he died in 1822, 
He entered one hundred and sixty acres of 
government land in Washington township 
and became a very successful farmer. He 
was a Federalist in his political views and 
took an active interest in local affairs. His 
wife was Sabina Vert, a native of Kentucky, 
and their family consisted of five children, 
— two daughters and three sons. 



Joseph D., father of our subject, was born 
at the old homestead, November 27, 1822, 
and has spent his entire life in Decatur 
county. For many years he followed farm- 
ing and stock-raising, and was at one time 
among the most extensive farmers in south- 
ern Indiana, owning eight hundred acres of 
land. For five or six years he was engaged 
in the mercantile business at Adams, where 
he l)uilt the first warehouse ever erected 
there and handled a large amount of grain 
for that time. He is now seventy-seven 
years of age and has long since retired from 
active business. 

In his earlier days Mr. Pleak was a Whig, 
but joined the Republican party in 1856 
and represented Decatur county in the state 
senate of 1861. He has for many years 
been a leading member of the Christian 
church, in which he has filled all the ofifices, 
and has liberally supported all its enter- 
prises. It was through his influence that a 
comfortable brick church was built at 
Adams, at a cost of five thousand dollars, 
he being responsible for the entire amount. 

Mr. Pleak was married in 1846 to Nancy 
E. Coleman, who became the mother of 
two sons: J. D., who is a farmer in Adams 
township: and Coleman T. Mrs. Pleak 
died in 1850, and four years later Mr. Pleak 
married Mary J. Robison. One son was 
born of this union, William R., who owns a 
large farm in Adams township and is an 
ex-member of the state legislature. The 
death of his second wife took place in 1855, 
and Mr. Pleak was again married in 1858, 
to Martha J. Woodward, who is still living. 

The subject of this sketch was reared and 
educated in Adams township, and remained 
on his father's farm until he was twenty-five 
vears of age. He then removed to Mount 




.^(>-Uy2.-2nJ2yri- QJ, Ja£Xi/x' 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



40r 



Zion, near Decatur, Macon county, Illinois, 
where he lived for a short time, and while 
there was hridg-e carjienter for the Illinois 
& Midland Kailroad Coniiiany. From this 
l)laco he went l<> (Icntry county in north- 
west Missouri, where he followed farming- 
until 1887. lie then returned to his old 
home in Adams township and purchased 
one hundred and thirty acres of his father's 
farm, on which he Iniilt a home and where 
lie has since resided. 

Mr. Pleak has always heen an active Re- 
puhlican and in 1894 was elected auditor of 
I )ccatur county. So satisfactorily did he 
l)erform the duties of his office that he was 
rc-clecteil in 1898 for another term of four 
years. He is a memher of the Christian 
church at Adams, in which he has filled the 
ofilices of deacon and treasurer, and also 
superintendent of the Sabhath-school. So- 
cially he belongs to Greensburg Lodge, 
Xo. 36. F. & .\. M., in which he is senior 
warden: to Greenshurg Chapter. Xo. 8, R. 
A. M.: to Shelby Council, at Shelbyville. 
Indiana; the Eastern Star Lodge at Greens- 
burg, and to Greenshurg Lodge. No. 103. 
I. O. O. F. He is also past grand of X^o. 
103, I. O. O. F.. and a member of Sexton 
Encampment. Xo. 42. at Greenshurg. 

The first marriage of Mr. Pleak took 
place October 10. 1875, when he was united 
to Deborah A. Buckley, of Decatur county. 
Five children were born to them, of whom 
four died in early life. The one surviving 
is Octa H. Mrs. Pleak died July 30, 1891, 
and on March 29. 1893. Mr. Pleak was mar- 
ried to Julia Ryan, also a resident of Deca- 
tur county. Three children were born of 
this union, of whom two, Lucille and Flor- 
ine. are living. 

Mr. Pleak is a man of manv excellent 



qualities of head and heart, genial in hi'; 
manners, liberal in his opinions and in the 
use of his money, and has the good will of 
his connnunity in a larger degree than is the 
lot of most men. 



\V. F. McCL'LLOUGH. 

W. F. McCuIlough. postmaster and a 
prominent merchant at Westport. Decatur 
county. Indiana, is a descendant from Revo- 
lutionary stock and 0/ men prominent in the 
early settlement of the south and west. His 
great-grandfather. John McCuIlough. was 
a brave and faithful soldier all through the 
war for .American indei)endence. and after 
peace was declared he settled in Virginia. 
Later, when Kentucky became a favorite 
destination for pioneers, he settled on the 
"dark and bloody ground" and there pros- 
pered and reared a family, and there died, 
honored as a soldier and as a citizen. His 
son William married Druzilla Morgan, of 
Kentucky, and they had a son named Wil- 
liam M.. born in Kentucky, who married 
Sarah Harper, a native of Pennsylvania, and 
had children named James H.. Jasper C 
Leota. Lena E.. J. T.. Simon and \\'illiam 
V. James became a farmer. Jasper C, 
Leota and Simon died unmarried. Lena is 
Mrs. .\ppleton and lives in Iowa. J. T. is 
a successful educator. W. F. is the imme- 
diate suliject of this sketch. 

Mr. McCullough's family history is in- 
teresting genealogically, and there is much 
of interest in those jiortions of it which deal 
with earlier generations, \^'illiam McCuI- 
lough. his grandfather in the paternal line, 
was reared in Kentucky and there he mar- 
ried and there were born all his children but 



408 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



two. He was a farmer and a mechanic, a 
Whig in pohtics, a prohibitionist and in all 
intellectual aspects a man in advance of his 
time and superior to his environments, — 
one who was highly resjiected even by men 
who opposed him in some things, for the 
reason that the integrity of his character was 
unassailable. He came to Indiana in 1829 
and in Ripley county entered land, which he 
improved and upon which he died in 1837. 
He long filled the office of justice of the 
peace with much aljility and discretion. 
Druzilla JNIorgan, born at Morgan's Station. 
Kentucky, was a daughter of Rafe Morgan, 
and her' parents were both natives of Vir- 
ginia. Her mother was a Mrs. Douglas, 
whose first husband had been killed by In- 
dians. Rafe Morgan and his wife were early 
settlers in Kentucky. He was instrumental 
in building a fort for the protection of pio- 
neers at the point afterward known as Mor- 
gan's Station and in having the country 
round about surveyed, and he was rewarded 
for his public spirit by a government dona- 
tion of five thousand acres of land. He ac- 
quired three thousand acres elsewhere in 
Kentucky and was in all things a leader 
among the men with whom he associated. 
The same family of Morgan that produced 
Rafe Morgan produced Jolm Morgan, the 
guerrilla of Tennessee, famous as the leader 
of Morgan's raid into Ohio, in 1863, an ex- 
ploit which stands out with much distinc- 
tion in the history of our civil war. The 
family is of Scotch-Irish descent and has in- 
cluded a number of other men noted for 
their courage and ability and for their manly 
qualities. Rafe Morgan was a whole-souled 
man wlio won friends by his hearty, genial 
manner and retained them by his fidelity 
and his friendlv deeds. Rafe Morgan and 



his wife (formerly Mrs. Douglas) had a son 
named Rolla, who was a farmer in Ken- 
tucky. By her first husband Mrs. Morgan 
had two sons, William and David Douglas. 
David became known in Decatur county as ' 
a farmer and as a preacher in the New Light 
church. 

The children of William and Druzilla 
(Morgan) McCullough were as follows: 
Harvey, who became a lawyer and who died 
at Versailles, Indiana: Jane (]\Irs. Burk); 
Eliza (Mrs. Spilman): John, who removed 
to Illinois: Sarah (Mrs. Runner): William 
]\I. (father of W. F. McCullough): Eliza- 
beth (Mrs. Hillis): and S. M. McCullough, 
a soldier of the civil war and now a resident 
of Westport, Indiana. William M. McCul- 
lough came to Westport in 1853 and 
worked for farmers and earned money with 
which to educate himself. He acquired a 
good education and for some years was a 
teacher, studying medicine meanwhile and 
entering upon a country practice as soon as 
he received his diploma. He opened the 
first drug store at Westport and was suc- 
cessful as a physician. A man of generous 
proportions, he became too fleshy to con- 
tinue the practice of medicine, it being diffi- 
cult for him to ride continually about the 
country, and he abandoned practice and de- 
voted himself exclusively and more largely 
to merchandising, adding groceries and 
other lines of goods to his regular drug 
stock. He prospered until his store burned. 
His loss was almost total, his insurance hav- 
ing been only nominal. With characteristic 
energ}'. however, he set about the work of 
retrieving his fortunes and soon erected a 
commodious brick building and continued 
bu.siness successfully until his death, Jan- 
uary 8, 1895. He several times filled the 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



office of postmaster at Westport and as jus- 
tice of the peace he made a record for fair- 
ness and g^ood judgment of which any man 
migiit be proud. Politically he was a Whig 
and later a Republican, and he was influen- 
tial in local politics. He was a member of 
the Christian church, a Mason and an Odd 
Fellow and in all relations of life lived fully 
up to his profession. Sarah Harper, who 
became his wife, was a daughter of Samuel 
Harper, of Pennsylvania, who came to Rip- 
ley county, Indiana, at an early day and was 
a farmer until late in life, then a hotel-keeper 
at Versailles, where he died respected and 
regretted by all who knew him. He had 
five children: Jane (Mrs. Bunten). Mark- 
land, Sarah (Mrs. McCullough) John and 
Watson. Mrs. McCullough was. like her 
husband, a consistent member of the Chris- 
tian church. She survived him until 1899. 

W. F. McCullough was born at West- 
port, Indiana, October 23, 1870, and was 
reared a village boy and educated in the vil- 
lage school. .Vfter his father's death he 
bought the store which the latter had con- 
ducted so long and so successfully, with its 
stock of goods and the good will of the busi- 
ness, and continued the enterprise, catering 
to a large and increasing country trade with 
drugs and kindred goods, groceries and 
family merchandise. He is interested in the 
Westport Natural Gas Company, of West- 
port, and was the promoter and one of the 
organizers of the Citizens' Line Telephone 
Company. In connection with these enter- 
prises and otherwise he has demonstrated 
his public spirit and he is regarded as a ris- 
ing man whose success will mean much to 
the village and its people. 

In September, 1897. Mr. McCullough 
married Miss Bertie E. Lugenbell, daughter 



of George W. and Victoria (Wiles) Lugen- 
l)ell, of Greensburg, Indiana, where Mrs. 
McQdlough was born December 12, 1878. 
Mr. Lugenbell is a son of Peter Lugenbell 
and is a blacksmith and carriage-ironer, a 
Democrat and a member of the jMethodist 
E])iscopal church, with which his wife also 
is identified. Mrs. Lugenbell's parents are 
B. F. and Lydia Wiles, both natives of Rip- 
ley, Ohio. 

Mr. McCullough may be said to have 
been born a Republican. Me was certainly 
reared one and has very near to his heart 
the success of that party, its measures and 
its leaders. He was appointed postmaster 
at Westport in 1897 and has served in that 
office since August 14 of that year. He is 
an Odd Fellow and a member of the West- 
port lodge of Knights of Pythias. Mr. and 
Mrs. McCullough are members of the Chris- 
tian church. 



ROBERT JOHXSOX. 

The subject of this sketch is of that ster- 
ling Kentucky stock which, transplanted to 
Indiana, has been so progressive and so in- 
fluential in the development of the best in- 
terests of the state. He is a representative 
of families who have been prominent in the 
political and religious history of this part of 
the United States, and he married the 
daughter of another family of Kentucky 
blood and distinguished in more ways than 
one. 

Robert Johnson, a prominent and reprc- 
scntatixc farmer and trader of Decatur 
couiUy, Indiana, was born in Boone 
county. Kentucky, May 21, 1858, a son of 
.\ndrew and Mary (McClurc) Johnson, both 



410 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



native Kentuckians. Andrew Johnson was 
a son of Andrew and Betsy (Slierlock) John- 
son, natives of Virginia, who settled early in 
Kentucky, where Andrew Johnson, Sr., be- 
came a leading- fanner and a man of influ- 
ence. The children of Andrew arid Betty 
(Sherlock) Johnson were John S.; William; 
Andrew, father of Robert; Elizabeth; and 
Mary. Andrew Johnson, Jr., has been a 
lifelong resident of Kentucky and is now 
seventy-one years old. He lives on the old 
Johnson homestead in Grant county, where 
he is a well known Democrat, but has never 
been an aspirant for office. He married 
Mary McClure, daughter of Jefifries and 
Mary (Dungan) McClure. Jeffries Mc- 
Clure, in his younger days a distiller, has 
been for many years a farmer. He is prom- 
inent in the community and commands the 
respect of all who know him. The families 
of Johnson and McClure in Kentucky are 
Baptists. The children of Jeffries and Mary 
(Dungan) McClure were named as follows, 
in the order of their Ijirth: Martha, Kate, 
Louisa, Elizabeth, Mary (mother of Robert 
Johnson), Thomas, Henry. John, Samuel 
and Fielden. Thomas, Henry and John 
were killed in our civil war, two of them 
battling for the Confederacy and one fight- 
ing for the stars and stripes. The children 
of Andrew and Mary (McClure) Johnson 
were Thomas (a farmer in Kentucky), John 
C. (detective in the employ of the Big Four 
Railroad Company), Robert (subject of this 
sketch), and Elizabeth (wife of I. X. Fearl, 
a Kentucky farmer). 

Robert Johnson remained under his 
father's roof until 1880. when he was twen- 
tv-two years old. He then married and re- 
moved to Indiana. He located first in 
Shelby county, l)ut came to Greensburg 



within the year and engaged in stock-rais- 
ing. In 1886 he purchased a farm and 
established his home on it and during the 
next few years became prominent and suc- 
cessful as a farmer and stockman. In 1895 
he purchased a small place near Greensburg 
and moved upon it. He has always been a 
Democrat in his political adherency, and 
though he works hard for the success of his 
party he has no wish to hold any ofKice in 
the gift of his fellow citizens, for farming 
and stock-raising are the pride of his life, 
and to these lines of industry he desires to 
devote his best energies. 

Mr. Johnson married ]\Iiss Dora ^I. 
Points, a lady of much intelligence and 
many accomplishments and a member of an 
honored Kentucky family. She is a daugh- 
ter of William and ^lartha Points, the last 
mentioned of whom is dead. Hon. William 
Points, now ninety, is passing the closing 
years of his life on his old Kentuck}' home, 
honored by a wide circle of acquaintances. 
He was always a successful farmer, and up 
to the time of the civil war a slave-owner. 
Prominent as a Democrat and influential as 
a citizen, he represented his fellow citizens 
three times in the Kentucky legislature and 
once in the national congress. It is a mat- 
ter of history that he was never defeated for 
any of^ce for which he permitted himself to 
be a candidate. For some years he gave his 
attention to pork-packing and he was one 
of the founders and long the president of 
the Grant County Deposit Bank. He mar- 
ried a member of the Franks family. His 
children were Mattie (Mrs. J. \\'. Spellman), 
Sally (Mrs. McBee), Susan (Mrs. A. W. 
Spellman), Elizabeth (Mrs. Williams), Rosa 
(Mrs. Franks), Kate (Mrs. Conrad), Huldah 
(Mrs. Yesi), Dora M. (Mrs. Johnson). 



DECATUR COUNTY 



411 



Thomas (a retired physician, now a farmer 
and handler of tobacco), William. Jr. (spec- 
ulator, financier and extensive breeder of 
shorthorn cattle), and David C. ( a promi- 
nent lawyer at Williamstown. Kentucky). 
The family are prominent in Baptist circles. 
Mr. Johnson ranks with the successful, 
])rogressive young business men and farm- 
ers of Decatur county. His success has 
been ample, and those who know how 
worthily he has labored for it know that it 
is amply deserved. 



WILLI. \M SMITH. 



Among the iironiincnt settlers of Decatur 
county Mr. Smith is one of the oldest, and 
he has been an important factor in the de- 
velopment of Jackson township. He is now 
a resident of Sardinia and is one of its most 
honored and venerated citizens. He was 
born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. De- 
cember 3. 181 2, and was reared on his 
father's farm, obtaining a limited education 
in the primitive schools of his day. l)ut put 
to a practical use all the information gained 
from observation and experience. His par- 
ents were Samuel and Letitia ( L'pdike) 
Smith, natives of New Jersey, the story of 
whose pioneer hardshi])s will be told later in 
this sketch. 

William Smith remained under the ]ia- 
rental roof until he was of age, and was his 
father's principal assistant in improving his 
farm and making a start in the new country. 
When twenty-one years old he married and. 
building a cabin on a portion of the home- 
stead, he lived in this primitive dwelling for 
five years. He worked early and late, 
saved his earnings, and entered land in 



Blackford county, Indiana, seven miles from 
the nearest settler. He never moved on to 
his ])roperty. however, but subsequently 
irought forty acres of land in Jackson town- 
ship, Decatur county, and in March, 1840, 
came here to live. At that time there was a 
cabin built in a clearing of four acres, or 
rather it was a partial clearing, with a large 
amount of big timber still standing. This he 
cut, and then cleared three acres more, on 
which he set out an orchard. He planted 
the seven acres in corn, and raised a crop 
the first spring, the only help he had being 
that of his faithful wife, who assisted in pil- 
ing up the brush ready for burning. Pros- 
])erity rewarded the efforts of the sturdy 
young farmer, and it was not long until he 
was able to add forty acres more to the orig- 
inal forty, and so he kept on until he had 
one hundred and sixty acres under culti- 
vation. Subsequently he purchased another 
farm, of eighty acres, and for many years 
carried on general farming, as well as stock- 
raising. His aim in life has always been to 
make his way by hard work and fair dealing, 
and the success which he has attained may 
be traced to the following out of this prin- 
ciple. After acquiring a handsome compe- 
tency, Mr. Smith, about 1886, bought a 
comfortable house, with ample grounds, in 
Sardinia, and there he and his esteemed com- 
Ijanion are passing the evening of their lives 
in cjuiet domestic happiness, with the con- 
sciousness of many well spent years 1)ehind 
them, and the hope of a blissful future. For 
fifty years they have been members of the 
Methodist church, of which Mr. Smith is a 
trustee. Originally an old-line ^^ big. Mr. 
Smith naturally affiliated with the Repub- 
lican ]>arty on its formation in iS^C\ and he 
still takes an active interest in all tpiestions 



412 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



of the da}-, and uses his influence in securing 
the best men for ofificial positions. 

Mr. Smith was married in March, 1834, 
to Miss DeHlah Smith, who, although of the 
same name, was no relative. She was born 
in Butler county, Ohio, but was reared in 
Franklin county, Indiana. Her parents 
were David and Margaret (Crooks) Smith, 
the former of German descent and a native 
of Pennsylvania, and the latter l^orn in Ken- 
tucky. They were married in Ohio, and 
later Mr. Smith entered land in Franklin 
county, Indiana, on which he settled and 
which he improved, and there he success- 
fully carried on general farming until his 
death. Before leaving Pennsylvania Mr. 
Smith was captain of a keel-boat on the 
Susquehanna river, and the title clung to 
him, so that all the rest of his life he was 
known as Captain Smith. His wife was a 
devout member of the [Methodist church, 
and both were highly respected wherever 
they were known. Their children were as 
follows: Delilah, wife of our subject; Jane, 
Mrs. Wallace; William C, deceased; Amy, 
Mrs. Updike; Monroe, living in Missouri; 
Margaret, Mrs. J. Webb; Milton, deceased, 
and Louisa, Mrs. Masters, residing in 
Brookville, Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Will- 
iam Smith eight children ha\e Ijeen born, 
as follows: Samuel, a farmer in Jackson 
township, Decatur county; Ellen married 
J. R. Thompson, and both are deceased; 
David, living in California; Margaret, Mrs. 
Joab Stout, living in Letts, Indiana; Dru- 
silla, Mrs. Seth Shepardson; John, de- 
ceased; Amanda, who resides with her par- 
ents; and Katie, Mrs. M. R. Fremain. 

Samuel Smith, father of our subject, was . 
a son of Thaddeus Smith. Tlie latter was 
of German descent, and was a soldier in the 



Revolutionary war. Late in Hfe he came 
from New Jersey to Indiana, and spent the 
rest of his days among his children, dying 
at the good old age of one hundred years. 
His family comprised seven children, as 
follows: EH; Zophar; Benjamin; Samuel; 
Nancy, who married Peter Updike ; Sophie, 
who became the wife of Anthony Abel, and 
Eliza, wife of John Rogers. Samuel was 
married to Letitia Updike in Pennsylvania, 
where William, their eldest child was born. 
In 1S17, in company with a' few neighbors, 
Samuel Smith built a flat-boat, in which, 
with their families, they found their way to 
Cincinnati. From that city Mr. Smith went 
to Franklin county, Indiana, where he 
leased some land and improved a farm. He 
also worked at his trade of wheelwright, 
making spinning wheels, and by every 
means strove to make a living in the wilds of 
the new state where he had selected a home. 
How many hardships and privations the 
early comers of those days endured, we, of 
the nineteenth century, have but little idea. 
There were trees to fell and brush to clear 
away before the little log cabin could be 
built; every necessary of life had to be 
hauled over miserable roads for many miles; 
neighbors were few and far between, the 
nearest often being ten miles away; and 
there were no amusements nor recreations, 
and no opportunity for gaining knowledge 
or religious instruction, except for the rare 
visits of the itinerant preachers. Life was, 
according to Mr. Mantilini, "one demni- 
tion grind," and yet those courageous men 
and women bore their burdens cheerfully 
for the sake of making a home for them- 
selves and their children, and even man- 
aged to extract some humor from the inci- 
dents which sometimes occurred. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



413 



Mr. Smith often tells with amusement the 
stcirv of one episode of his struggle at this 
time. Adjoining the land which he leased 
was a tract of sixty acres of swamp land, 
of which the owner was anxious to he rid. 
He finally persuaded Mr. Smith to take it at 
three hundred dollars, securing his note for 
the same, at long-time payments. These 
were not kept up. and finally when all the 
notes became due the man pressed Mr. 
Smith for payment. The latter had no 
money, but he had Iniilt a log stable and 
cleared a few acres, and he ofifered to take 
nothing for the improvements if the man 
would take the land back. This the owner 
refused to do. but otYered to make a trade, 
which was concluded by Mr. Smith giving 
him a mare and colt valued at one hundred 
and eighty dollars, a saddle, some harness, 
a quantity of cloth which his wife had 
woven, for all of which he charged good 
prices, and. in addition, his fur cap. He 
took up his notes and now owned the land, 
but had nothing else, not even a cap to 
wear. However, he managed to get along, 
and later bought a one-eyed horse for forty 
dollars, contriving to make a bridle out of 
a rope and a saddle out of straw stufifed into 
a bag. Success was bound to crown the 
eli'orts of a man of such perseverance, in- 
dustry and resources, and with a brave 
heart, cheered by the companionship and 
help of his no less brave wife, he surmount- 
ed all obstacles, and lived to see the wilder- 
ness turned into a beautiful land and to 
enjoy an old age of ease and comfort. He 
died at the age of sixty-five years, his wife 
surviving him, and she passed away at the 
age of eighty-six years. 

Mrs. Smith's father. Isaac Updike, who 
was a native of Pennsylvania, had preceded 



Mr. Smith to Indiana by a few years, and 
had purchased and improved a farm in 
Franklin county, where he died when sixty 
years old. He became well known and was 
an honored citizen, respected by all who 
knew him. He and his wife were consistent 
members of the Baptist church. They had 
four children, — Betsey, Mrs. Abram Smal- 
ley. of Franklin county; Peter and Elijah, 
both deceased; and Letitia, mother of Will- 
iam Smith, the subject of this sketch. All 
of these families are worthy of mention in a 
historical work of this kind, for it is to such 
men and women, who de\eloped its re- 
.sources and labored for its improvement, 
that Indiana owes her jiroud jiosition in the 
galaxy of states. 



A. S. MOOR. 



Indiana is justly proud of her old citizens 
who have been in turn pioneers, farmers, 
soldiers and retired gentlemen and whose 
declining years are being passed in the 
enjoyment of the rewards of their industry 
and their patriotism. It is a fact worthy of 
note that the same qualities of mind and of 
heart, the same willingness to dare and to 
do, which made men good pioneers, made 
them good soldiers when the fruits of their 
labors were menaced by civil war; and there 
is no class of men in the Hoosier state more 
highly honoretl than the large class of far- 
mer soldiers of which the man whose name 
is above is a worthy representative. 

A. S. Moor, of Letts. Decatur county. 
Indiana, coines of a pioneer family which 
has long been identified with agricultural 
interests in this part of the state. He was 
born in Franklin county, Indiana, January 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



i6, 1834, a son of Edmund and Elizal^eth 
(Higgs) Moor. His father was a native of 
the state of New York, l)orn in 1800, a son 
of Robert Moor, a hero of the Revokition, 
who started with his household to Ohio and 
died en route, in Kentucky. The rest of the 
family went on to their destination and a 
year later removed to Ohio and some time 
afterward from Ohio to Franklin county, 
Indiana. There they rented land and farmed 
with more or less success. Edmund Moor 
grew to manhood in Franklin county and 
married there. When, in 1843, h^ came to 
Decatur county, that part of the state was 
an almost unbroken wilderness. He took 
up land in Jackson township and improved 
it and lived upon it until his death, on Sep- 
tember 13, 1883, his wife having died four 
years earlier. He was a plain and honest 
farmer, a man of integrity and of great 
charity, was a Whig and later a Republican 
in politics, and in religious belief was a Pres- 
byterian. He won the respect of all who 
knew him, and died regretted by a com- 
munity to whose betterment he had lived. 
The children of Edmund and Elizabeth 
(Higgs) IMoor were named as follows in the 
order of their birth: W. O., who married 
and died, leaving a family; Sarah (Mrs. W. 
H. Tyner); R. J., now a retired farmer; 
G. M., now a resident of Nebraska; A. S.; 
Mary E. (Mrs. J. R. Swope); Elizabeth A. 
(Mrs. G. M. Thompson); and E. M., of 
Howard county, Indiana. 

.-\. S. Moor was reared on his father's 
farm and educated in the public schools 
near his home. He was a memlaer of his 
father's household until he attained his ma- 
jority. In 1859 he married and began life 
in a small calkin on a rented farm. After a 
four years' struggle to get ahead a little 



financially he bought a small tract of land. 
Later he sold this to advantage and bought 
one hundred and sixty acres of improved 
land. He has been industrious and honest 
and has succeeded so well that he has been 
enabled to increase his holdings to two hun- 
dred and thirty acres. He gave his atten- 
tion profitably to general farming and to 
raising and feeding stock, and in 1893 he 
built one of the best houses in this vicinity. 
He has eleven acres of land at Letts, where 
he has his home, his farm being in care of a 
competent man. 

Mr. Moor has an enviable record as a sol- 
dier, having seen arduous service in our civil 
Avar. He enlisted in 1862 in Company I. 
Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer 
Infantry, and was mustered into the L^nited 
States service at Indianapolis, for three 
years or during the war. He was in the 
Fourteenth Army corps. Army of the Ten- 
nessee, and served gallantly for a year and 
a half, when he received an honorable dis- 
charge, on account of disability, in the form 
of chronic diarrhoea contracted in the ser- 
vice. At ]\Iumiordsville he was taken pris- 
oner with about four thousand five hundred 
others, but was paroled after having been 
a prisoner two days and was detailed order- 
ly sergeant and put in charge of an ammuni- 
tion train. It was while so detailed that he 
became disabled. He was sent to the 
Indianapolis city hospital, Indianapolis, In- 
diana, and there later received his discharge. 
Returning home he resumed farming and 
became influential as a citizen and as a Re- 
publican, though he never has sought of^ce 
and has never been an active political 
worker. 

I\Ir. yioov married Miss Julia Swope, a 
daughter of Michael and Sally (Johnson) 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



415 



Swopc, lier father a native of Virginia, her 
mother a native of Indiana. Michael Swope 
was a nicrcliant at Greensburt;' and was for 
two terms sheriff of Decatnr connty. Old 
citizens say that he was a model otificer. 
As a business man he was original, ener- 
getic and public-spirited, lie was twice 
married. By Sally Johnson, his first wife, he 
had children as follows: J. K., a farmer in 
Jackson township, Decatur county: Julia, 
who married Mr. Mocw: and R. W.. a 
merchant at Fowler, Indiana. By his sec- 
ond wife, Mrs. Eliza Linch (formerly Miss 
Clark), he had children as follows: O. L., 
who lives in the west: and Sharilda. who has 
never married. Mr. and Mrs. Moor have 
no children. They live ciuietly and unos- 
tentatiously and are good and helpful sup- 
porters of every cause that promises to ad- 
vance the interests of the community. Their 
acquaintance is large and they are honored 
bv ail bv whom thev are known. 



JAMES B. CLARK. 

In the annals of Decatur county a very 
important part has been played by the Clark 
family, of which the subject of this article 
is a worthy representative. His grand- 
father, \\'oodson Clark, came to this countv 
from Kentucky at an early day. and settled 
on land a portion of which is the site of 
the village of Clarksburg. That place was 
named in honor of the worthy pioneer, who 
also was one of the founders of the town of 
Enochsburg, Franklin county, Indiana. 
These now enterprising places he laid out, 
and in order to induce responsible people to 
settle in Clarksburg he generously donated 
building lots to those who desired to be- 



come permanent residents, and in many 
other ways materially aided in the growth 
of the town. He was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, and met with success in his chosen 
vocation. His wife survived him a number 
of years, and both are kindly remembered 
by the old residents of this township who 
were acquainted with them years ago. 

Richard Clark, father of James B. Clark, 
was born in Kentucky, September 22, 1820, 
and was a mere child when he accompanied 
his parents to this county. Here he grew 
to manhood, and, after his marriage, com- 
menced cultivating a tract of eighty acres 
in this township, the property being located 
southeast of Clarksburg. Later, when his 
wife's father had become well advanced in 
years and desired him, with her brothers, to 
assume the management of his homestead, 
the younger man consented to the arrange- 
ment. In the course of time, however, he 
bought a farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres, situated on .sections 12 and 24. Fugit 
township, and there continued to make his 
homo until the death of his wife, in 1892. 
She was a most estimalilc woman, admired 
and loved by all who knew her. Her maid- 
en name was Margaret Throp, and her 
father, Thomas Throp, was one of the 
pioneers of this county. To the union of 
Richard and Margaret Clark three children 
were born. The only daughter, Ellen, mar- 
ried John Freeman, who was accidentally 
killed at the raising of a barn, in Richland 
township. Rush county. Subsequently, Mrs. 
Freeman became the wife of Isaac Weir of 
Laurel, Indiana. Thomas Woodson Clark, 
the elder son of Richard Clark and wife, was 
born in 1848. and resides on his father's old 
homestead, in this township. He chose 
Carrie Rudolph for his wife, and finds in 



416 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



her an able and willing helpmate. The father 
makes his home with his children since the 
death of his wife. 

James B. Clark, whose name appears at 
the beginning of this sketch, was born at the 
old family home in this township, March 
17, i860, and received his education in the 
common schools. Since boyhood he has 
been engaged in agriculture, and has made 
a success of most of his undertakings. He 
possesses a practical, systematic method of 
doing things, and richly deserves the pros- 
perity which crowns his endeavors. Like 
his father and grandfather before him, he 
enjoys an enviable reputation as a citizen 
and business man, and the confidence of all 
who know him is the reward of a well spent 
life. He uses his franchise in liehalf of the 
Republican party. 

The marriage of James B. Clark and Miss 
Una Johnson, a daughter of Dr. Thomas 
Johnson, an early settler of this locality, was 
celebrated July 13, 1881. Two sons, Rol- 
land and Prosser, manly, promising lads, 
bless the home of our subject and wife. The 
family attend the Methodist Episcopal 
church and contribute lilierally to its main- 
tenance. 



HARRY JOHNSON. M. D. 

Holding prominent rank among the rep- 
resentatives of the medical profession of De- 
catur county is Dr. Harry Johnson, of New 
Point, Salt Creek township. He is very 
well known throughout this section of the 
state and he is often called into consulta- 
tion with physicians of neighboring towns. 
His career as a physician, in Franklin, Rip- 
lev and Decatur counties, covers a period of 
about thirty-five years, and he has reason 



to be proud of the success which he has 
attained. 

The birth of the Doctor occurred in Co- 
lumbia township, Fayette county, Indiana, 
sixty years ago. His father, Isaac Johnson, 
was a native of Schoharie county. New 
York, whence, in 1838, he emigrated to 
Indiana, settling on a farm in Columbia 
township, and there he spent the rest of his 
days, death releasing him from the burdens 
of life in 1873. His beloved wife, whose 
name in girlhood had been Sarah Betson, 
survived him less than a year. They were 
the parents of three sons and four daugh- 
ters, of whom only the Doctor and two of 
his sisters remain. Albert, the eldest of 
the brothers, was one of the brave boys in 
blue who fought for the preservation of the 
Union in the dark days of the civil war. 
He was a member of the Sixty-eighth Indi- 
ana Infantry and was severely wounded at 
the siege of Vicksburg. Another brother, 
Nesbit Johnson, was a private in the One 
Hundred and Twenty-third Indiana and 
was wounded at Atlanta. The surviving 
sisters are Mary, wife of John Steffy, of 
Laurel, Indiana, and Permelia, wife of John 
Seal, of Ohio. 

The boyhood of the Doctor was quietly 
spent upon his father's farm near Laurel, 
and his elementary education was gained in 
the public schools of the vicinity. Later 
he attended an academy at Connersville, 
and at twenty years of age he became a 
student in the office of Drs. Gififord and 
Kitchen, of Laurel. In 1862 he was grad- 
uated in the Louisville Medical College 
with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and 
subsequent to the death of Dr. Kitchen he 
engaged in practice with his old preceptor. 
Dr. GiiYord, at Laurel, for some six years. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



417 



Then removing to Enoclisburg, Ray town- 
ship, he established an office and carried on 
a flourishing- practice there for eighteen 
years. Since tlie expiration of tliat time 
lie lias resided in New Point, where he en- 
joys an extensive patronage. He endeavors 
to keep abreast of modern discovery in the 
Hne of medical science, and is progressive 
and in full s\inpathy with the spirit of the 
age. Both as a ])hysician and as a citizen 
lie is held in high regard by every one. 
The lady who bears his name and aids him 
in all his labors as far as possil)le formerly 
was Miss Emma Barnett. She is a native 
of this county and is a lady of excellent men- 
tal and social attainments. 



(iEORGE P. G.VRDXER. 

( jeorge P. Gardner was an early settler in 
Decatur county, Indiana, and was long a 
representative farmer of Sand Creek town- 
ship. He is now living at Letts Comer, 
retired from active ])ursuits and in the en- 
joyment of the fruits of a life well spent. 
Mr. Gardner has had an interesting career, 
some account of which, and of his antece- 
dents, based chiefly on family tradition and 
his own vivid recollections, it will be 
attempted to give in the succeeding para- 
graphs. 

Mr. Ganhicr is a son of .Vlexander and 
Eliza (Powers) Gardner and is a native of 
Hamilton county, Ohio, born July 15, 1832. 
His father was of Penn.sylvania-Dutch 
blood, his mother of Irish extraction. When 
.Mexander ("larduer was ten years old his 
father removed with his family to Cincin- 
nati. Ohio. Mr. Gardner states that at that 
lime Cincinnati was "a small village of cab- 



ins" and that when his father was twelve 
years old he "worked in a brick yard there 
and helped make the brick out of which the 
first brick house ever erected at Cincinnati, 
or near there, was built." This descrip- 
tion of the Ohio metropolis would indicate 
that it had made rapid strides since that 
time and seems to give .Mexander Gardner 
a iilace among its industrial pioneers of 
which he might have been justly i)roud. 
There he grew up and married. Not long 
after his marriage he went to Franklin 
county, Indiana, where he improved a good 
farm. Iniilding on it a brick house and a 
large barn. Later he disjiosed of this prop- 
erty and secured a farm in Hamilton county, 
Ohio. On this place he lived for many 
years and finally gave it to his children. 
After that he removed to Greensburg, In- 
diana, and was a member of the family of 
one of his daughters for about seven years. 
There he and his good wife died, the latter 
passing away two years before her hus- 
l)and. They were leading members of the 
Christian church, and Mr. Gardner left a 
good record as an honorable man of the 
highest character and most beneficent influ- 
ence. He was a Whig politically, but was 
not an office-seeker or an active politician. 
This worthy couple had children as follows: 
Sarah (Mrs. Gillian!), David (deceased). 
Naomi (living in Ohio), Robert, Eliza. .\da- 
line and George P. 

George P. Gardner was brought up on 
the farm and educated in subscription 
schools. He was a member of his father's 
family until lie was twenty-four years old. 
In June. 1857, he married and removed to 
Decatur county. Indiana. Here he bought 
an improved farm on which was a good 
house and somewhat extensive clearings. 



418 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



He erected good barns and outbuildings 
and now has two hundred and forty acres 
of land, ditched, tiled and under advanced 
cultivation. His wife was Miss Mollie 
Druce, who was born in England and was 
brought to America, at eight years of age, 
by her parents, George and Ann Druce, who 
settled in Hamilton county, Ohio. Her 
mother died soon afterward and her father 
died of typhus fever four years after his 
arrival, leaving the following named chil- 
dren, some of whom were old enough to 
keep the family together: Maria (Mrs. J. 
C. .\nten), Elizabeth (Mrs. William Outli- 
ers), Mary (Mrs. Gardner), Arthur (de- 
ceased), Martha (Mrs. S. Seward), John 
Tdied at the age of twenty-one). Timothy 
(living in Oklahoma), and Eunice (Mrs. D. 
Poorman). George P. and Mary (Druce) 
Gardner have children named as follows, in 
the order of their birth : Alexander A., who 
is working his father's old homestead farm; 
Robert J., a farmer in Ohio; Levi, a farmer 
in Sand Creek township; Adalaide (Mrs. A. 
Alexander), and George, hotel and livery 
proprietor. Letts Corner. 

Mr. Gardner's life has been a busy and 
useful one, and its usefulness has been 
rewarded by the results of well-doing, not 
the least valuable of which is the respect of 
all familiar with the scenes among which 
his years have been passed and with the 
sturdy characteristics which were the foun- 
dation of his worldlv success. 



JOHN H. JACKSON. 

From the early days of Decatur county, 
the Jackson family, which is worthily rep- 
resented in Marion townshi]) by the sub- 



ject of this narrative, has been closely asso- 
ciated with its history. John H. Jackson, 
who had both German and Irish ancestors, 
comes from a race noted for extraordinary 
longevity. His maternal grandparents, 
who died on the farm now owned and car- 
ried on by him, passed the century mark, 
the grandfather attaining the age of one 
hundred and six, and the grandmother one 
hundred and four years. Both are sleep- 
ing their last sleep in Sand Creek cemetery. 
The paternal grandfather, William Jackson, 
a native of Virginia, lived to the extreme 
age of one hundred and sixteen years, his 
death occurring in Kentucky in 1867. 
About a year previous to his demise, our 
subject visited the venerable man at his old 
home in the Blue Grass state, and heard 
from his own lips strange stories of his 
pioneer experiences on what hatl been the 
western frontier at the time of his settle- 
ment there. Being born and reared in the 
south, he quite naturally was a Democrat, 
and owned a large number of slaves. 

More than a century ago, in March. 1797, 
the father of John H. Jackson was liorn 
in Kentucky, and was christened Burrell. 
He grew to manhood near the place of his 
nativity, and married Margaret Becraft. 
Together they came to the wilds of Decatur 
county, Lidiana, in 1821, in company with 
the family of Mrs. Jackson's parents, and 
all of them concluded to make a permanent 
settlement in \\'ashington township. Bur- 
rell Jackson was very enterprising and in- 
dustrious, and in the course of a few years 
had made material improvements on the 
tract of land which he had selected for his 
home. Later he entered and bought land 
on section 35, township 10, range 9, and 
continued to devote his energies to the cul- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



419 



tivation of that property until his death, in 
1869. His faithful wifc/wlio liad chcorfully 
shared his pioneer labors. siir\ i\ ed him sev- 
eral years. They were loyal nieiiibers of the 
Baptist church. an<l the place which they 
filled in this community for- about half a 
century was one of honor. Tliey were the 
parents of four daughters and two sons, 
of whom. William, the eldest, is deceased, 
and those living- are Elizabeth. Mary. 
Xancy, John H.. and Martha Ann. 

John H. Jackson was born on the old 
hoinestead which he now owns, the date of 
that event being March 4. 1841. ninety 
years subsequent to the birth of his paternal 
grandfather. Even when a mere child he 
commenced assisting his father in the 
arduous work of the farm, and from that 
time until the present he has given his chief 
attention to. agriculture. For thirty-four 
years, during the season, he operated a 
threshing machine, and in this manner 
each year made a good income. He has 
been faithful to his everv- duty as a citizen, 
and enjoy.s- the good will and respect of all 
with whom business or social duties have 
brought him into contact. Politically he 
favors the Democratic party platform. In 
1894 he was chosen to serve in the respon- 
sible position of trustee of Marion town- 
ship, and is still serving in that capacity. 
He is a trustworthy official, having the wel- 
fare of the iieople deejily at heart. 

The marriage of Mr. Jackson and .\man- 
da Bryan was celebrated Decemlicr 20. 
1863. She was born in \'irginia. a daughter 
of Levi Bryan, who came to tliis county 
with his family when Mrs. Jackson was a 
child. Four sons and four daughters were 
born to our subject and wife, namely: 
Franklin J.. X'irginia Ellen. Margaret Jane. 



James B., Cora Lee, May, Charles, and 
( ".rover J. The older children render in- 
\aluable assistance to their parents in vari- 
ous ways, and the younger ones are attend- 
ing school. 



XIMROD KERRICK. 

Nimrod Kerrick. a worthy representative 
of one of the sterling ]iioneer families of 
Fugil townshij). Decatur county, was born 
on the old homestead which he now owns 
and carries on. and has passed his entire 
life in this immediate locality. 

The paternal great-grandfather of the 
above mentioned citizen was Thomas Ker- 
rick. a native of Ireland. He emigrated to 
.America in colonial days and during the 
war of the Revolution shouldered a musket 
and assisted in gaining our independence. 
His son Thomas, the next in the direct line 
of descent to our subject, was made of the 
same patriotic fiber as was his father, and 
performed his share towards the progress 
of the United States by defending her 
rights in the second war with England, as 
a soldier in the ranks. He was a native of 
i Loudoun county. X'irginia. from which state 
j he emigrated with his family to Franklin 
' county. Indiana. al)out 1825. Here, on the 
frontier, he reared his children and cleared 
and improved a farm. Of his eight children 
I — Ximrod. James. Walter. Armstead. 
' Stephen. Hugh. .\ima and Mary — only the 
I youngest. Mrs. Mary Throp. survives, 
i though all married and left descendants save 
i Stephen, who died at the age of about 
I thirty years, and .\nna. who died at eigh- 
teen. Without exception, they were highly 
esteemed citizens, and two of the number. 



430 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Armstead and Nimrod, were ministers of 
the Methodist cliurch. the former l)eing a 
local preacher, and the latter a typical cir- 
cuit-rider. 

In 1832 Thomas and James Kerrick en- 
tered two himdred and forty acres of land in 
Fugit township, and this property became, 
under tlieir earnest efforts, the tine home- 
stead which is now owned by our subject. 
Thomas Kerrick resided here until his 
death, in October, 1857, and was survived 
by his wife nine years. Considering how 
limited were his opportunities for gaining 
an education, he was well read and informed 
for his day, and ho\.\i before and after his 
coming to Indiana he taught school, with 
marked success. He left to his descendants 
an honorable name and an unsullied record. 

James Kerrick was born in Loudoun 
county, ^'irginia, September 21, 181 1, and 
his wife, whose maiden name was Nancy 
Sloan, was born on the 25th of February of 
the same }-ear. She was a native of Cam- 
den, New Jersey, whence she came to the 
west with her parents, Benjamin and Mary 
(Dubois) Sloan, who located at first in Cin- 
cinnati, and subsequently settled in Har- 
mony township. Union county, Indiana. 
Mrs. Kerrick's parents were members of the 
Society of Friends, and she exemplified 
throughout her life the noble principles 
which had been inculcated during her child- 
hood. She was summoned to her eternal 
reward November 7, 1866, Ijut her husband 
survived her until March 5, 1884. Both 
were loved and revered by all who knew 
them, and the part which they took in the 
early history of this county redounds 
greatly to their credit. They had but two 
children, one of whom died at the age of 
eleven months, in Union county. 



As previously stated, Nimrod Kerrick has 
always made his home on the old estate in 
Fugit township, his birth having occurred 
here August 10, 1843. From boyhood he 
has been a practical farmer, and everything 
about his homestead gives plain evidence 
of the watchful care which he bestows upon 
it. 

In all of his undertakings for more than 
a quarter of a century Mr. Kerrick has been 
aided Ijy his devoted wife, formerly Miss 
Sarah A. Humphrey. She is a daughter of 
Robert Humphrey and was born in Frank- 
lin county, Indiana, April 30, 1848. The 
only daughter of our suljject and wife is 
Luna B.. wife of William F. Johnson, and 
their only son, Leonidas, is a resident of 
Clinton township, Decatur county. Politi- 
cally, Nimrod Kerrick is a stanch Repub- 
lican, having been affiliated with that party 
ever since casting his first presidential vote, 
for Lincoln, in 1864. 



ROBERT S. MONTGOMERY. 

To be a descendant of pioneers in any lo- 
cality which has advanced to a happy condi- 
tion of civilization is an honor of itself. To 
have been practically a pioneer by having 
lived in the pioneer period and participated 
in pioneer experiences is an added honor. 
To this double honor Robert S. Montgom- 
ery is entitled. His father was a pioneer 
and his own birth was early enough to insure 
its date a place in the earliest history of De- 
catur county, of whose development he has 
been a lifelong witness. 

Robert S. Montgomery was born in De- 
catur county. May 8, 183 1, a son of Thomas 
and Elizabeth (Bingham) Montgomery. 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



Tliomas I\rontgomery, in the paternal line, 
descended from Irish ancestry. His father. 
Hugh Montgomery, came to America he- 
fore tile Revolutionary war and fought for 
tiic independence of the colonies. Some of 
the fighting blood in his veins was he- 
(|ucathcd to his children, and his sons 
Thomas, Michael and William served in the 
last war with England, in which conflict the 
last mentioned lost his life, Eva Hartman, 
a Pennsylvania woman, became the wife of 
Hugh Montgomery. Thomas was an early 
settler in Ohio, whence he removed to In- 
diana in 1824. In this state he entered large 
tracts of land and w as one of the most prom- 
inent farmers in his vicinity. He cleared 
and improved a farm and lived on it until 
his death, which occurred in 1846. His life 
was that of a Christian, full of good deeds, 
and in all its aspects afforded an example 
worthy of emulation. His children, born in 
the order indicated, were named as follows: 
Thomas (father of the inmiediate subject of 
this sketch), Henry. Hugh, George. Micha- 
el, Roliert, Mary (Mrs. Alexander Grant), 
Elizabeth (Mrs. Thompson), Sarah (Mrs. J. 
Martin), Nancy (Mrs. Hineman). and Mar- 
garet (Mrs. Crutchwell). 

Thomas Montgomer}', father of Robert, 
married Miss Lizzie Bingham, daughter of 
John Bingham, who died in Pennsylvania, 
leaving her without parents or brothers and 
sisters and, indeed, without any near rela- 
tive. She became a member of a small col- 
ony which was destined for the then far 
west, and which made its way down the 
Ohio by flat-boat and settled in Butler 
county. Ohio. From there some of them 
came to Decatur county. Indiana, and Miss 
Bingham was one of the party, .\fter their 
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Montgomerv set- 



tled on a piece of land which had been 
entered by Mr. Montgomery's father, and 
which was eventually improved into a good 
farm, and there Mr. Montgomery passed 
the remainder of his life, dying in 1845. 
Following are the names of the offspring of 
Thomas and Lizzie (Bingham) Montgom- 
ery: Rebecca and Sarah, who died unmar- 
ried, the latter aged ninety-one years; Eva. 
who became Mrs. A. J. Draper: John B.. de- 
ceased: Hugh and George, who died in 
1851: Martha, who became Mrs. Craig; 
Thomas, who married Sarah .\. Gageby and 
died November 24. 1874; and Robert S.. 
some account of whose career it will be at- 
tempted now to give. 

Robert S. Montgomery bought the inter- 
est of the other heirs to his father's estate in 
the old homestead and has lived on it and 
managed it successfully during all his active 
life thus far. and has no thought but that he 
will live on it to the end of his days. He is 
a thorough farmer of good business ability. 
Politically he is a Republican, exerting a 
quiet influence upon the local work of his 
party but never aspiring to any public oftice. 
He is not married. 



DAVID MOSS. 



Indiana is heavily indebted to her repre- 
sentative farmers, who during the years of 
her development constituted the mainspring 
of her progress and who at this time consti- 
tute the most important factor in her pros- 
perity. Decatur county numbers among 
her leading citizens many such representa- 
tive farmers, and none of them is held 
higher in the estimation of his fellow citi- 



422 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



zens than the gentleman whose name is 
above. 

David AIoss was born in Hamihon coun- 
ty, Ohio, August 20, 1827, a son of David 
and Hannah (Smith) Moss. His father, a 
son of Daniel Moss, was born in Vermont, 
and his mother, a daughter of Benjamin 
Smith, was born in New York city, where 
her father was a brick-maker. Daniel Moss 
was a patriot soldier in the Revolutionary 
war. I.ate in life he came west, and for 
some years made his home with a daughter 
at Cincinnati, but the last two years of his 
life were spent as a member of the household 
of his son David, under whose watchful care 
he ended his days in i860, at the venerable 
age of ninety years. His children were 
Betsy (Mrs. Jalliff, of Cincinnati), Lydia 
(Mrs. Collingsworth), Alfred (of Illinois), 
Benola (of Pennsylvania) and David (father 
of the David Moss who is the immediate 
subject of this sketch). 

David Moss, Sr., was apprenticed to the 
clothier's trade, and after he had finished 
it worked as a journeyman in New York 
until his marriage. He then went to Penn- 
sylvania and there later joined a colony 
which built a flat-boat and made its way 
down the Ohio and up the Mississippi to 
Illinois, where all the members located. 
Mr. Moss remained there six years, when he 
went back as far as Cincinnati, where he 
bought a small piece of land and lived until 
1834, when he came to Decatur county. In- 
diana, and bought a farm, upon which he 
lived to the close of his life, in 1876, when 
he was ninety-three years old. His wife 
died in 1852. He was a Whig in pohtics, 
but a plain farmer who did not seek polit- 
ical distinction. His children were named 
as follows: Lavina, who died young; Dan- 



iel, who for many years was a hotel man at 
Greensburg and who died in Illinois; Har- 
riet, Mrs. Barron; Hannah, Mrs. Evans; 
Sarah, Mrs. J. Sailors; Fanny, Mrs. Win- 
ters; David, the subject of this sketch; La- 
vina, Mrs. St. John; and Luetta, who died 
young. 

David Moss was brought up on the farm 
and in the public schools of his day and 
locality obtained a scant education, to which 
he has added by reading and observation in 
his mature years. He remained under his 
father's roof until he was twenty-one years 
old. After that time he was employed as a 
farm laborer for two years and for four years 
thereafter as a carpenter. In 1853 he mar- 
ried and began a successful career as a 
farmer on rented land. After eleven years 
he removed to Greensburg, Indiana, where 
he remained two years. He then purchased 
the farm upon which he now lives. This 
property he sold at the expiration of four- 
teen years, and ten years after that time 
bought it back again and it has since been 
his home. 

Air. Moss married Miss Drucilla Talbert, 
a native of Decatur county and a daughter 
of Henry and Eliza (Hendricks) Talbert. 
Her mother was a cousin of the late 
Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, and her father 
was a public man, the first county clerk 
of Decatur county and the incumbent 
of other important official positions. After 
having held office continuously for thirty- 
six years he set two sons up in the hard- 
ware business and gave some atten- 
tion to their interests. From early in 
life he devoted himself enthusiastically to 
breeding and handling stock and often 
drove stock to the Cincinnati market. His 
breeding stables and his fine stallions — Jack 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



yi. and Dick Thompson — are well remem- 
bered. He was also at one time in the drv- 
ijoods business and he was the contractor 
of the brick work on the jn-csent Decatur 
county court-house. He commanded the 
respect of all the people, irrespective of po- 
litical affiliations, and possessed the public 
confidence in a remarkable degree. He 
was a Methodist and a Mason and endeav- 
ored in an earnest and practical way to live 
up to the teachings of his church and of his 
fraternity. He died in 1872. 

The children of Henry H. and Eliza 
(Hendricks) Talbert were Rachel, who died 
unmarried; Sarah A., Mrs. \V. S. Woodfill ; 
Drucilla, Mrs. David Moss; Hendricks, a 
druggist; Henry H.. of Greensburg, In- 
diana; and Mary E.. Mrs. J. King, of Indian- 
apolis, this state. The children of David 
and Drucilla (Talbert) Moss are Harry T., 
who lives in Kansas; Joseph, of Greensburg, 
Indiana: Charles, a farmer; Daniel, who 
farms on the family homestead; Monroe, a 
druggist of Chicago, Illinois; William W., a 
farmer; and Cortez C, a farmer. Mr. and 
Mrs. Moss are members of the Methodist 
Ejiiscoiial church of Greensburg. Mr. Moss 
enjoys an enviable reputation as a business 
man and is a public-spirited citizen, always 
interested in every movement which in his 
good judgment tends to the general welfare. 



A.\RON D.WTS. 



Mr. Davis, who is one of the valued citi- 
zens of Letts, is the worthy representative 
of a pioneer family of Decatur county. He 
was born in Franklin county. Indiana, May 
\f>. 1833, the son of James and Martha 
(Smothers) Davis. He was reared to the 



honest toil of a farmer's lad and in the coun- 
try schools of his day gained all the specific 
education he ever had. He improved his 
opportunities, read all the books he could 
get hold of and qualified himself for a 
teacher. 

Mr. Davis remained at home until eigh- 
teen years of age, when he started out for 
himself, hiring out as a farm hand, doing 
some trading and working industriously at 
whatever he could find to do. When twen- 
ty-four years old he was married and settled 
on a small farm in Sand Creek township. 
There he remained but a short time, then 
sold out and bought a farm in Clay town- 
ship. He remained on that four years, later 
buying property in Jackson township, where 
he lived four years, and then purchased the 
one hundred and forty acres on which he 
still resides. To this he has added until he is 
now the owner of two hundred and forty 
acres, which includes forty acres belonging 
to his youngest son, Clifford S. Davis, and 
all of which is under good cultivation. He 
has a commodious two-story brick resi- 
dence, with all modern conveniences, which 
he built at a cost of over five thousand dol- 
lars. He also .set out a small orchard and in 
every way beautified the homestead, which 
is to-day one of the best managed and finest 
farms in the neighborhood. 

Mr. Davis has carried on general farming, 
also buying, feeding and shipping stock to 
some extent. In 1881, in connection with 
O. S. Mitchell, he built an elevator at Letts 
Corner and Ixjught and shipped grain ex- 
tensively. He afterward disposed of his 
interest in this to his i)artner, and for a few 
years again gave all his attention to farming. 
Since 1894, on account of ill health, he has 
been obliged to give up all active employ- 



434 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



nient and lead a quiet life. Mr. Davis is 
comparatively a self-made man, starting with 
very small means and being the architect 
of his own fortune. He has been successful 
in his enterprises and has proved himself a 
good financier. His children have had good 
advantages in way of schooling, are all edu- 
cated and have had a fair start in the world. 

Politically Mr. Davis is a Republican and 
an active worker in the party. He attends 
the state and county conventions and uses 
his influence in selecting the best men for 
responsible positions, but has never aspired 
to office himself. He is a member of the 
Baptist church and is well respected as a 
Christian gentleman and a loyal citizen. 

Mr. Davis was married, October 24, 1858. 
to Miss Jane Barrett, who was born in 
Franklin county, Indiana, Octolier 10, 1837. 
and is a lady well respected by all who know 
her. Her parents, Charles and Mildred 
(Gentry) Barrett, were natives of Virginia, 
where they were married and where the 
father died in 1837. He was a soldier in the 
war of 1812. Mrs. Barrett was a daughter 
of Claiborne Gentry, a representative of an 
old family of Virginia, many of whom set- 
tled in Kentucky and raised large families, 
some of their descendants becoming prom- 
inent lawyers, bankers and physicians. The 
family are well known all over the west and 
are highly respected. They hold reunions 
every year, the one in 1898, at Crab Or- 
chard, Kentucky, being attended by over 
three hundred persons of that name. The 
reunion in 1899 was held at St. Louis, Mis- 
scuri. Mr. Claiborne Gentry removed with 
his family in 1837 to Franklin county, In- 
diana, settling on a farm near North Bend. 
Mildred, the third born in the family, came 
with her father to Decatur county, Indiana, 



in 1839. The others were David and Dab- 
ney, who died in Illinois; William, who died 
in Decatur county, Indiana; and \\'inson, 
who died in Illinois. Mildred Barrett was 
left a widow when a young woman and 
never married again. She is now living with 
her daughter, Mrs. Davis, and although 
ninety-four years old is still active and in 
excellent health. She reads her Bible, the 
newspapers and all the literature which 
comes in her way, and enjoys life as well as 
those about her. Such a delightful old age 
is rare, and it is a great pleasure to meet and 
converse with a lady who can recall the inci- 
dents of so many j^ears ago, during whose 
life three generations have come and gone 
and who yet retains an interest in the affairs 
of the present time and is well posted on the 
cjuestions of the day. Mrs. Barrett com- 
mands the love and respect of her children, 
grandchildren and the numerous friends 
who gather about her in the evening of her 
long and useful life. She is a lifelong mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church and has set 
a worthy example to her descendants. To 
her and her husband three children were 
born: Eliza, Mrs. Morgan; James, who 
died unmarried; and Jane, the wife of Aaron 
Davis, our subject. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davis have had eight chil- 
dren, concerning whom we give the follow- 
ing brief record: John C, now quartermas- 
ter in the United States Army in Cuba; 
Albert, living in Idaho; Emma, Mrs. J. 
Evans; Minnie N.. Mrs. John Shafer; Ida 
M., ]\Irs. L. Moore; Henry, who is highly 
educated, a minister of the Missionary Bap- 
tist church, and who has been stationed at 
Beatrice, Nebraska, but has resigned that 
charge and accepted one at Omaha; was 
married September 27, 1899, to Miss Eva 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



425 



White, who was I)om in Nebraska, and is of 
a well known and highly respected family; 
she is a college graduate, a lady of great in- 
tellectual ability and refinement and has 
been a successful teacher: Everett, who is 
the seventh child in the Davis family, lives 
in the state of Washington; and Clififord S., 
the youngest, is engaged in farming on the 
old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Uavis are 
consistent meml)ers of the Bajitist church. 

Tlie parents of our subject, James and 
Martha (Smothers) Davis, were both born 
near Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where they 
were married. The father was the son of 
Matthias Davis, who married a Miss Mc- 
Clellan. a relative of General George B. 
McCiellan. Matthias Davis was born in 
Wales, of Welsh and Scotch parentage, and 
came to America at an early day, his first 
jiermanent settlement being in Kentucky 
near Mount Sterling. He was a farmer by 
occupation and served in the war of t8i,j. 
He raised his family on the Kentucky home- 
stead and in 1830 he, with all his children, 
married and single, excepting three, came 
to Indiana and settled in Franklin county. 
He entered land and improved a farm on 
Salt creek in the township of that name. 
Mr. Davis was a member of the New Light 
church and was an honest, industrious man, 
well thought of in his community. He died 
in 1840. His children were ten in numlier: 
Melinda; James (father of our subject). 
Joseph, Elizabeth. Isaac, Daniel. Allen, 
Ambrose, William and Matthias. 

James Davis grew to manhood and was 
married in Kentucky. He came to Indiana 
witli tlie rest of his father's family, and lived 
in Franklin county until 1835. when he re- 
moved to Decatur county. He entered land 
in Clay township, built a cabin and cultivated 



his fann there until 1850, when he sold it 
and bought a farm near Westi)ort, Sand 
Creek township, where he spent the remain- 
der of his life. He was born in 1798 and 
died in 1866. When quite young he became 
a member of the New Light church, but 
after coming to Indiana, there being no 
church of that denomination in Decatur 
county, lie attached himself to the Baptist 
church, in which he was long a leading 
memi)er. He was a local preacher and an 
exhorter for many years before his death. 
Politically he was originally a Whig and 
later a Republican. Of a social disposition, 
he was a good neighbor and friend, and was 
ever ready to advise or sympathize with any 
who asked his counsel: a man of honor and 
integrity, he had the love and respect of all 
who knew him. 

Mrs. Davis, who survived her husband 
until 1885, was a daughter of Hugh Smoth- 
ers, a native of Ireland, who came to this 
country, married and settled on a farm in 
Kentucky. Besides farming he dealt in 
stock and was considered a good financier. 
About 1830 he came to Indiana, where he 
entered land and carried on farming and 
also engaged in trading in cattle. About 
1840 he joined his relatives who had gone to 
Iowa and there spent his last days. He was 
a soldier in the Indian wars and also in the 
war of 181 2. Mr. Smothers was the father 
of one child by his first wife, that one being 
the mother of our subject. After her death 
he married a Mi.ss Hopkins, and three chil- 
dren were born of that union: Hugh, 
Sobrina and Benjamin. To Mr. and Mrs. 
James Davis eleven children were born, as 
follows: Sarah. Mrs. Shelton; Harrison, 
living in Clay township; Matthias, deceased; 
Nancv. Mrs. Pavev; Sobrina. Mrs. Burk- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



man; Hugh, deceased; Aaron, our subject; 
Andocia, Mrs. Sharp; Eliza, Mrs. Barnes; 
Martha; and Ehzabeth, Mrs. Britt. 



SAMUEL H. LOGAN. 

Decatur county, Indiana, owes much to 
Pennsylvania. If a census could be taken 
showing the number and identity of its citi- 
zens who came from the Keystone state or 
are descended from pioneers who came from 
that great commonwealth, the deductions 
which would follow a careful study of the 
names and of the achievements of their own- 
ers would be highly favorable to Pennsyl- 
vanians and their descendants in Decatur 
county. Of such good, thrifty and patriotic 
stock is the well known citizen whose name 
appears above. 

Samuel H. Logan was born in Indiana 
county, Pennsylvania, February i, 1819, a 
son of John and Isabel (Graham) Logan, 
His father was a son of Samuel Logan, who 
came to America from Ireland some time 
before the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury and settled on his own land in Indiana 
county, Pennsylvania, where he reared his 
family and where he died as the result of an 
accident. He was twice married and by his 
first marriage had children named Joseph, 
Margaret, Daniel and John, the last named 
being the father of the immediate subject of 
this sketch. His children by his second 
marriage were named \\'illiam, Elizabeth 
and Samuel. 

John Logan, son of Samuel Logan, mar- 
ried in Pennsylvania and became the owner 
of his father's homestead. His half-brother, 
Samuel, came early to Decatur count}', In- 
diana, entered government land and im- 



proved a farm and spent his life upon it. 
John came to visit Samuel and while he was 
his guest entered a tract of land, a part of 
which he subsequently leased. Later he 
made other visits to Decatur county, but re- 
turned to Pennsylvania and in due time 
gave his Indiana land to his son, Samuel H. 
Logan. John Logan was a Democrat, and 
in religious adherency both he and his wife 
were Presbyterians. The latter was a 
daughter of Joseph Graham, from Ireland, 
who settled in Pennsylvania, where he ac- 
quired a farm, reared his children and lived 
out his days. His wife was born in October, 
1796, and died in 1887, aged ninety-one. 
Their children were named James, Polly, 
Isabel, Hannah, Ann and Ruth. Mr. and 
]\Irs. Graham were Presbyterians, and so far 
as was possible brought their family up in 
the same faith. The children of John and 
Isabel (Graham) Logan wer* Samuel H.; 
Hannah, who married HugF.' Hise; Mar- 
garet, who married J. Elliott; and Ann, 
Mrs. Baker. After the death of her hus- 
liand Mrs. Logan came to live in the family 
of her son Samuel H. and brought Ann with 
her. She died about thirty years later, in 
1889. Mr. and Mrs. Hise also came to De- 
catur county, where they reared a family 
and died. 

Samuel H. Logan married Aliss Millie 
Hise in 1843. Miss Hise was of German 
descent and a native of Pennsylvania. Her 
father, Henry Hise, was a native of New 
Jersey, one of three brothers who came early 
to Pennsylvania, where they selected val- 
uable land and developed farms of more 
tlian average value. Their father, also named 
Henry, came up from New Jersey to Penn- 
sylvania and spent his declining years as a 
member of the family of his son and name- 



DECATUR COUNTY. 



427 



sake. The children of Henry Hise. Jr., 
were George. John, Betsy, Millie and Mary 
.\. .After the death of the father, the mother 
came to Terre Haute. Indiana, witli her son 
John, who ijecame a railroad man. and they 
l)oth died there. John leaving a wife and 
funr daughters. 

Samuel H. Logan was brought up to the 
work of a farm and gained sucii an education 
as a bright boy could obtain in the public 
schools in his day and locality. Always used 
to hard work, he became a model farmer and 
ni)t only improved his property in many 
ways and added greatly to its value but also 
bought other farm land in purchases of one 
hundred and seventy acres and one hundred 
;ind forty acres in Decatur county, and one 
hundretl and sixty acres in How^ard county, 
and he owns real estate also at Greensburg. 
He gave attention to stock farming and 
raised many hogs, for fifteen years feeding 
them at disti .-ries at Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
Lawrenceburg. Indiana. Upon his retire- 
ment he gave his farms above mentioned to 



his children and his son William lives on 
and manages the homestead. A man of first- 
class business ability. Mr. Logan has often 
been chosen to advise in the affairs of others, 
and his wise, just and honest methods in all 
business relations have so commended him 
to his fellow citizens that he has l)een elected 
county commissioner on the Democratic 
ticket, though the county is Republican. 
He is a member of the Presbyterian church, 
as was his wife, who died October 15, 1878. 
Their children were John, who is engaged 
in commercial pursuits at Indianapolis, In- 
diana: Henry, a farmer in Decatur county; 
\\'illiam, who lives on his father's old home 
farm; George, who is employed by the Os- 
born Manufacturing Company at Grand 
Rapids, Michigan; Marene R., who died 
leaving a widow and son and whose widow 
is now also dead; Samuel, born September 
16. 1857. who died .\pril 18, 1893; Marion, 
born March 16. 1855. who died January 22. 
1885: and Emma J., born August 20. i860, 
who died August 16, 1865. 



m\ 



.RBNIv76 



\ 



